I’ve been a long time in the public eye…Since I was 13 at my first Olympic Games really, so it’s pretty hard to find unknown facts, however I have an honorary doctorate & a masters degree so you can call me Dr. Davies MA MBE. I’m very much a country bumpkin. Happiest either walking the dog through the woods or on the beach with the kids. I’m very loyal, some of my best fiends I’ve had since primary school & most of my long term friends are from sport…no surprise there I guess. I did a short film in Mexico in the 80s when channel 4 first launched with En Rietel who did many of the voices for spitting images. I was not cut out for movies really, got very bored waiting around. Did an autobiography called Against the Tide at 20. Always had dogs, love most animals. Did some three day eventing, but rubbish at show jumping. Raced in shore power boats for two years. I’m a scorpio and a tiger (Chinese character). I love to read especially good thrillers. Enjoy a good box set but no fan of reality tv. Not a gardener but don’t mind mowing. I’m a supper cook, hearty family food, but not a foodie. See food as fuel i guess. Will never understand why you’d spend all day making something you’d eat in twenty minutes! Don’t have a sweet tooth luckily. Not much of a drinker, the odd glass of Chablis or a margarita. Drink too much Diet Coke. Can’t have a tea without a biscuit. Coffee snob. Hated having big feet as a kid because impossible to get size 8 shoes, much better these days. Good flippers though on the plus side. Desperately wanted long hair but being in chlorine 4 hrs a day wasn’t conducive. Have way too many crowns and implants, was a terrible Tom boy, always bashing my teeth out. Thank goodness for my dentist. Broke both arms when I was 11, my dad wrapped them in plastic bags. I swam with 2 broken arms for three months. The next year I badly injured my right knee, my dad (& coach) tied my legs together and I trained arms only for another three months. The following year I swam for GB at the Olympics so it worked. My dad and my daughter gold plated my Olympic medal a few Christmas’s ago & put it under the tree as a surprise, as they felt the IOC should have sorted out the re issue of medals after the East Germans doping scandal of the 70s & 80s where many young women missed out on the medals they should have won. I go through gallons of coco butter which I’ve used since I was a kid and in the pool. Prevention better than cure is bit of a mantra. I have twin brothers. I’m quite creative when I have the time and I’ve done interior design work for a few house builders. Don’t mind travelling but home is where my heart is.. will often travel late after work to sleep in my own bed. Flown with the red arrows. Swum with dolphins, manta rays and sharks on several occasions, but still have an extensive bucket list. Had dinner with Cary Grant. Been honoured to meet loads of truly amazing people. My grandad was a fireman, my mum a civil servant ordering parts for nuclear submarines based all round the world, and my dad was in the navy before he became my coach, he’s still coaching at 86. Love being mum and now grandma.. 🥰
