Denise Lewis has teamed up with Dettol to promote their new Power and Pure range - which is help keeping her home clean and her kids safe from harmful bacteria.
I caught up with the former Olympic champion to discuss the campaign as well as looking ahead to the London 2012 Games.
- You are working with Dettol and their new Power and Pure range so can you tell me a bit about it?
Pure and Power range is a wonderful new product from Dettol and it does what the title suggests as it is a powerful cleaner as well as being effective and safe around the home. I like it in particular because of the fragrance and I am a bit of a cleaning freak and like to know that my home is safe for my kids come home.
The product kills 99.9% of bacteria around the home so I like to know that they are safe when they are preparing sandwiches when they come home from school. There is no awful residue left behind by the product like some things that use bleach. So in a nutshell it’s safe, it’s pure and I really do like it.
- You have touched on my next question as a mother yourself how great is this new range for keeping your home clean and safe for the children?
It is important to me as I am sure you have heard of the cases of contracting nasty bacteria in the tummy and you just don’t want that as kids have to be kids and get grubby. But the home has to be a safe place for them to explore and be involved in any of the activities that I am doing.
It is important that you have a product that is safe and not makes the home germ free but the nasty ones in particular like E-Coli you don’t want contamination. I am just trying to get my husband to use it as well as he is not as good at cleaning up as I am.
- The London 2012 Games are not just a handful of months away so how excited are you at the prospect of a home games?
I think that is the most frequently asked question and it is a yes, I can’t wait. It’s something I have been involved with from very early on back in Singapore in 2005 when the bid was announced.
I just hope, in terms of legacy, that more kids want to choose a life in sport that they are more active and getting stuck in really.
There is a real energy and a buzz around the Games and around the UK and people feel connected and support the Games.
- Team GB were in action just over a week ago in the world indoor championships so what did you think of their overall performance?
Very good as we had our best indoor medal haul since 2003 so I am delighted with some of the performances and some of the unexpected medals and there are some new names to get use to.
Andrew Osagie’s bronze medal was really delightful as he has had a tough start to the year with injury but he ran very maturely in the 800m. And Shara Proctor in the long jump her new British record was incredible and bodes well for the summer.
- You have mentioned Andrew Osagie who got a medal but Andrew Pozzi just missed out how can this be used as a spring board for the summer?
The thing is athletes get more confidence the more they race the more they are hitting personal targets it just gives you confidence.
And when you see your fellow countrymen standing on the podium it makes you think ‘well I am not that far away and I can achieve these things and I can compete well and it could have been me.’
Success breeds success and the more you are around a healthy and thriving athletics team the more the people who only think they can make semi-finals will be inspired to want to aim for finals and go for medals.
- There will be a lot of pressure on the athletes over the next few months so, having prepared for an Olympic Games yourself, how should they be spending these last few months?
It is not easy and, as you said; because it is our home games everything is a little more heightened. For me I tried to not keep a low profile but I was training in a different country as I prepared for Sydney because I had such a realistic gold medal shot. I just wanted to stay focused and not get caught up in all of the hullabaloo and all of press prior to it.
So I would say just keep your head down, be realistic and don’t use up to much nervous energy in the anticipation of the Games. Although there are a lot of sponsorship expectations athletes have to remember why they are there and that it’s really about the performance and making sure they are mentally ready and not too mentally exhausted before they compete.
- Of course all eyes will be on Jessica Ennis as she goes for Olympic gold so how confident are you that she can win?
Despite the two silvers in Daegu and Istanbul I think that she still has to be the favourite for the gold medal. She has clear weaknesses that need to be eradicated quickly, not because I think physically she is not capable but it is a mental game; when you are in the top five or six in the world any of you can win and you have to be mentally tough and mentally ready.
I just don’t want the expectations to get so great that she starts doubting herself whether she can win. What goes on in the head is a very powerful thing and she needs to stay focused and trust the things she has been doing thus far. But if anything drastic needs to be changed then she needs to do it now.
- You mentioned that she claimed a silver last weekend so what did you think of her overall performance?
Her overall performance was really good as she hurdled well, her shot putt was fantastic and she ran her heart out in the 800m as we have come to expect as she puts herself on the line every single time. But her high jump and the long jump were not as good as they should be.
- Every Olympic Games there are a few athletes that really step up when it matters do you see any dark horses amongst the British team that may spring a couple of surprises.
The thing is we have still got a very maturing team; we have got the household names like Dai Greene is a medal prospect along with now Holly Bleasdale. But one of the high jumpers could sprint a surprise Robbie Grabarz needs to be getting his around what it takes to be successful and he is putting together back to back performances so any time he is over 2.30m you know that there is an opportunity there for you.
Tiffany Porter in the hurdles we can see that she is a medal contender and she just needs to relax and let her legs do the talking because she is a very strong and powerful athlete. And Shara Proctor in the long jump as she was amazing.
But what particularly pleased me was Yamile Aldama in the triple jump I could have cried when she won the gold. It was just incredible as she is nearly forty and she has been on such a rollercoaster in the last decade so I hope this gives her confidence and that this summer she finds herself with an Olympic medal.
- London 2012 Games is not just about those two weeks of sport it's about leaving a lasting sporting legacy, is London well on the way to achieving those goals?
I think we are almost there. The real impact will be post Games because I remember how I felt when I watched the Olympic Games for the first time and there will be a lot of young people watching these Games and it will reach millions of people.
I just hope, here in the UK in particular, I hope that they will be inspired. In schools they have been using the Games as an educational tool, whether it be in geography or history or in P.E.
So I am hoping that we will have much healthier kids at the end of it and if some of them want to take the next step and become the next champions then it will be a job well done.
- You have been part of the Games since the very beginning so you must have been delighted to see the tickets fly out the way that they did.
Delighted but a bit hacked off that I didn’t get any (laughs). Athletics in particular the tickets did just fly off the computers, they were gone very very quickly. But I am just pleased for a lot of the other sports as well that are use to not many full stadiums but that will not be the case in London.
I know whether you are religious or not the churches really see this as a great opportunity to galvanise communities and I think it’s exciting some of the plans that the churches are proposing in and around games time.
- Athletics is in the spotlight this week as Dwain Chambers is looking to have his Olympic ban overturned where do you stand on the issue?
I think regardless of what I feel about it the other countries involved in athletics don’t agree with the British stand point and the by law, hence them being in court to discuss what to do.
I think Dwain was very foolish and it was particularly disappointing for me as I had seen him as a young boy and he was mega talented and didn’t need to go down that route - he almost ruined his life he really did.
But he has done a lot to educate young people about the pitfalls of making the wrong decision and I think that you have to respect that. We do have to learn to forgive as human beings, it helps when the person has shown great remorse and Dwain has.
- Finally what's coming up for you?
Well it is an exciting time as I have got involved with a lot of the Olympic sponsors. I turn forty this year so all in all 2012 is off to a great start and I am looking forward to both the Olympics and the Paralympics. I can’t wait to see how we do as a nation and bring on the party.
Dettol Power and Pure bathroom and kitchen range is available in two fragrances, Oxygen Splash to reinvigorate kitchen surfaces, while Fresh Mountain Spring will provide a breath of fresh air for your bathroom.
Available from all good supermarkets Dettol Power and Pure is available from RRP £2.03. For further information please visit http://www.dettol.co.uk
For further information and to win a chance to meet Denise visit www.facebook.com/missionforhealth to enter.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Denise Lewis