Nothing in her already remarkable life could have prepared Denise Lewis for this. The powerful arms that clasped an Olympic gold medal at Sydney 2000 are now tenderly rocking her tiny baby daughter, Lauryn.

“Until I had Lauryn, winning gold was the greatest experience I had ever had,” she says, smiling. “But when I look at my baby girl, she is mindblowing. There is no comparison. I love being her mother.”

But becoming a mother has not been plain sailing for Britain's greatest female athlete. She was in agony when doctors warned that her baby may need surgery, and she has had to cope with the reaction of her coach – who fears that motherhood will end her days as an Olympic heptathlete.

For the full story see this week's issue of HELLO!.