My Secret Life: Greg Rutherford, 25, Athlete

'I pride myself on my cakes'

'I go along the classic sponge line but I like to jazz it up: I've made some psychedelic birthday cakes.' (Ed Sykes)

My parents are… My dad is a builder and my mum's a nurse. They're just very normal people.

The household I grew up in… Me and my brother just used to fight all the time, then my sister came along and it was all about the little girl in the house. We'd always eat dinner together as a family.

When I was a child I wanted to be… For a long time I thought I'd be a physio if I wasn't a sportsman. At one point I wanted to be an inventor, and I'd come up with little schemes.

If I could change one thing about myself… My injury record: my body likes to break. My fragile body – I'd like to change that.

You wouldn't know it but I am very good at… I'm a very keen baker, I pride myself on my cakes. I go along the classic sponge line but I like to jazz it up: I've made some psychedelic birthday cakes.

You may not know it but I'm no good at… Running – anything over 150 metres. Jogging I'm terrible at, I'm not built for it.

I wish I had never worn… Look at any childhood pictures – I wish someone had told my mum just to stop doing that. What I see when I look in the mirror… It's a bit cheesy, but I now see an Olympic champion, which makes me smile.

It's not fashionable but I like… I'm a bit of a geek – I like watching the History Channel.

I drive/ride… A Ford Mondeo. No luxury cars for me sadly.

My house is… It's a pretty little cottage in a beautiful village called Woburn Sands. A lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into turning it into our home.

My favourite work of art… I like the Bayeux Tapestry.

My favourite building… The Tower of London.

Movie heaven… Very funny films with the likes of Will Ferrell – or any form of sword-and-shields fighting.

The last album I bought… About a month before the Olympics I went to HMV and bought a load of CDs, basically to sort out my warm-ups playlist; Jay-Z's Watch the Throne, I think it was.

My greatest regret… Not getting the school qualifications that I should have done – I was much happier being Jack the lad, instead of listening properly.

My secret crush… A mix between Katherine Jenkins and Alex Jones.

My real-life villains… I had a Year 7 teacher, who alluded to me never making it in sport, and here I am – ha!

The last time I cried… At the medal ceremony at the Olympics.

My five-year plan… To jump much further than I already have.

What's the point? To have fun and laugh.

My life in six words… Sandy, manic, fast, fun, historical, Saturday.

A LIFE IN BRIEF

Greg Rutherford was born in Milton Keynes in 1986. At 18, he became the youngest-ever long jump winner at the AAA Championships. After injury problems, he came 10th at the 2008 Beijing Olympics – but at London 2012, Rutherford became the first Briton in 48 years to win gold in the long jump. He supports the Bupa Global Challenge to get people moving. Rutherford lives in Woburn Sands, near Milton Keynes, with his girlfriend