The Big Interview: Jodie Stimpson

That was the first time the golden girl, one of the top stars of this Commonwealth Games, competed in the sport.

Now she has won one of the biggest tournaments, both solo and in the team event for England – and that winning feeling is one she wants to experience again and again.

But it wasn't for the plaudits, bragging rights or accolades starting out, it was simply to see the look on father Ian's face when she crossed the finish line first.

It's the old adage – that's how every sportsman or woman starts out. Some top footballers are where they are because dad kicked a ball around with them in the park for most of their formative years.

Athletes are something else. The training and dedication needed for success at the top rules most children out of the running. But there are athletes – and then there are triathletes.

The swim-cycle-run format pushes even the fittest to the limits. It doesn't suffer fools gladly and those ill-prepared are almost guaranteed to finish at the back of the queue.

Perhaps you get used to that pressure and it's been commonplace for Stimpson, now 25, for as long as she cares to recall.

Making sure you enjoy success when it comes along is the first rule.

What started with victory in the old Milk Series, held at Appleby near the Lake District, culminated in double gold glory at this Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. And it's by no means over yet.

She said: "The first real memory I have was when I competed in my first triathlon, at the age of nine.

"I won that and the feeling of making my dad proud was brilliant.

"I used to cycle around Langley Leisure Centre several times and then jump straight in the pool for a swim session straight after. It was quite a lot for an eight-year-old!

"Everyone thinks it's unique, but triathlon starts from eight years old, it used to be called the Milk Series then.

"It's one of the fastest growing sports but, even when I started out, there was loads of kids that did it.

"I have always loved the sport. I was never considered just a strong swimmer, but it did help the triathlon later on. I was already a strong swim-bike-runner by then."

The water was where it really began when she was little more than a toddler at Oldbury Swimming Club, where dad Ian was a coach having been a keen competitor himself.

But it was auntie – sorry, uncle – Derek who first introduced Stimpson to triathlon and she's never looked back.

It's an experience that she shares with all of the family.

She said: "My dad first taught me to swim when I was four, so I started young. To be honest, I don't remember much of it but my dad was a coach. He taught me how to swim my first width! From that day on, it was clear that sport was for me, as I would love winning from an early age.

"I even swam up an age group to be racing with and against the older girls.

"My uncle Derek, who when I was younger I called auntie Derek, first introduced me to the sport of triathlon when I was eight.

"That was where and how this whole journey started; my triathlon seed had been planted."

Stimpson viewed school as a distant second to sport during her teenage years, spent at Warley High School which is now the Oldbury Academy.

But childhood friends Claire Hipkiss and Amy Bartlett helped her lead a normal life outside triathlon and still perform the same function today.

She said: "Even at an early age, I always knew I would be involved in sport when I grew up.

"My parents never pushed for anything else, because I think they realised I hated being indoors!

"I just wanted to be out on my bike or doing something active, I couldn't do anything other than get bored stuck in a classroom. To be fair, my high school were always supportive, especially towards the later stages.

"It was just little things, they would allow me to go in later because I was training in the mornings.

"I have known my two best friends since nursery and they are not what I would call sporty, so I did lead a normal life.

"But they are part of my support group and push me all of the way."

Dad and Derek apart, there's far more to the close-knit Stimpson family unit, all of whom keep Jodie happy and content in what can be a lonely life on the road.

She's still very close to mum Jude and sister Carrie and dotes on niece Erin, but maternal instincts are firmly on the back-burner at present.

She said: "My mum wasn't into sport but she's taken up running over the last few years, I think she's got the bug from me! She did the Birmingham half-marathon last year.

"My sister used to swim but she stopped when she was about 16.

"She's a police officer and a mum now – I have got a niece called Erin who's a little star. She's pregnant again now.

"I would love to have kids myself one day, but that's a long way down the line.

"At the minute, I am too selfish and focused on my career to consider anything else than a sporting life!"

For all but two months of the year, she's globe-trotting in the name of sport. It can be a lonely life as an athlete, but the wonders of social media can and do help.

That's when you need your nearest and dearest to be there for you and Stimpson certainly appears to have no worries on that score.

Training and the last two dates on the ITU World Triathlon Series take her to France, Sweden and Canada this month alone, but company is only ever a push of a button away.

He said: "I am hardly ever at home and that's the hardest bit of what I do, as I am very much a family girl.

"The training for the season starts in January and then it's straight through until October.

"My family and friends get me through the hard times, even when I am in a different country. Be it Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp, we can always keep in contact.

"That's when you know who truly cares about you, I come back and it's like I haven't been gone.

"At the end of October, that's when I get to go home and I am there until the New Year.

"Christmas is my favourite time of the year, as I get to spend it with the family and friends that I miss throughout the year. I don't ever stop training, but I get to see the people I love during that time and I never get bored of that.

"I am in Oldbury this weekend and then I fly out again on Monday morning.

"I go back to France to prepare for my next race in Stockholm and then it's on to Edmonton. Everybody involved is in the same boat. They are all away from home, too, and the circuit becomes like another family.

"You see the athletes that you compete against more than your family members, for large parts of the year. We all get on – but when the race is on, it's on!"

It's been on for a number of years as Stimpson strives to prove herself as the best of the best, with Commonwealth glory making her the girl of the moment.

It's justice, in her mind, for missing out on London 2012 when "domestique" choice Lucy Hall got the nod when the invitational spots were handed out by Team GB.

Helen Jenkins booked her place automatically, something Stimpson is determined to do to make sure she's not put in that position again.

Vicky Holland and Hall were the other two picks, the latter told in no uncertain terms that she was expected to play supporting roles to the British medal prospects.

A furious Stimpson said that decision went against the ideals of the Olympic movement by choosing a tactical team approach, rather than selecting the three fastest competitors.

There was damning evidence, too. At the time, Hall had never finished higher than 37th in a World Series race over the Olympic distance.

But she was one of the fastest swimmers going. You didn't have to be a genius to figure out she was there to help Jenkins split the pack and give her a better chance of victory.

Stimpson said: "I didn't do what I needed to do to make the team, so that was never the issue.

"It was just that they had gone down the 'domestique' route which, personally, I don't agree with.

"It's an individual sport, it shouldn't be about team tactics. After all, isn't that the true test of the Olympic Games? That you race against the best in the world?

"However, maybe that was me being naive, and I soon found out that wasn't to be the case." Stung by the politics of that sequence of events, a smarting Stimpson made changes and brought in Australian Darren Smith as her new coach.

Still, the only thing that could dull the pain was a home Commonwealth Games, even it was in Scotland. Who knows when Britain will entertain that cycle of tournaments again?

She said: "It was devastating for me to miss the last Olympics, especially with it being a home championship.

"It hurt so much, but spurred me on to make sure that didn't happen again.

"In hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise, because it made me change what I needed to in my career to make myself a better athlete.

"Darren Smith is my coach now and, as soon as I changed to him, the results started to come.

"It took a lot to get there, but it's the main reason behind the success I have had.

"I know I was the best prepared I could be going into Glasgow and that's thanks to my coach.

"He put a lot of work in with me after I qualified but, at the same time, kept me back to stop me peaking too early. He kept me grounded until the championships."

Feeling at the peak of her powers, Stimpson raced to the first medal of the Games and probably would have settled for that there and then. But the cherry was put on the cake in the team event, when she and Alistair Brownlee picked up their second gold medals in the mixed team relay.

In a poignant and fitting moment, the elated Stimpson clan were right near the finish line the second time around to celebrate with her. It may never get any better than that.

She said: "I got to really share that moment with my family. As soon as I finished, they were the first people I saw and that was the highlight.

"They were in the grandstand going mad but the whole crowd was so loud, I turned onto the blue carpet thinking it was a sprint finish!

"Then I realised I had won! Just goes to show you, you definitely can't believe anything until you get over the line."

To repeat such heroics in two years' time and right those Olympic wrongs would etch the Stimpson name into the sport's folklore. If you can't stand the heat, it might be best to get out of the kitchen in red-hot Rio but Glasgow wasn't exactly a walk in the park, either.

Stimpson said: "You wouldn't have thought Scotland would give us 30 degree heat. They pulled out some great weather, but that made it tough conditions in itself.

"We race in all climates – it's not the first time I have competed in hot weather. We have to be ready for all conditions, but it shows that I can perform in the heat.

"I have actually raced in hotter conditions than Scotland. It was in the mid-30s for the Hy-Vee event in Des Moines. It can be more humid in America than anywhere.

"It's one of the hardest sports, but it's what I love to do and I wouldn't change it.

"You can't go into any of these races and not be at your best, because it will show.

"There's definitely nowhere to hide, it's for the hardcore. When you are competing, you need to be on your A-game."

This weekend will be spent enjoying the final throes of her Commonwealth glory and then it's back to business.

But memories of the last few days back in Oldbury will stick in her mind for a while.

She said: "It's been mad since I have been back. It's taken a few days to sink in, to be honest.

"Little things remind me, like when I was out for a run on Tuesday morning and got stopped by people.

"That makes things run through your head and it's a bit surreal.

"I think that's the addictive side of it, that winning feeling. It's a roller-coaster ride, being an athlete."

By Craig Birch