Being a decathlete is like having ten girlfriends. You have to love them all, and you can't afford losing one.

I am an education ambassador, mainly working with schools.

If you work hard in real life, people tend to get in your way - either from inertia or prejudice - and they stop you achieving things. It's the worst thing about real life compared with sports, where you generally get what you deserve: if you're the fastest guy, you win; there are no other games being played.

But if kids take up things like hockey and football they will go back to it.

Retiring was hard. I'd spent 15 years doing something I loved, but when you get older everything seems to go. When I started spending too long with the physio and the doctor, I knew it was time to call it a day. But I had no preparation for being retired and I didn't know what to do.

Ever since I was a kid, whatever situation I was presented with, I always made the most of it.

Sometimes you have to resist working on your strengths in favour of your weaknesses. The decathlon requires a wide range of skills.