‘IT’S LIBERATING’
OLYMPIAN VICTORIA PENDLETON FINDS THE BASIC LIFE MAKES YOU RESILIENT
Victoria Pendleton isn’t afraid of a challenge. Since retiring from competitive cycling, the double Olympic gold medalist has made an assault on Mount Everest, trained as a jockey and waltzed her way through Strictly Come Dancing.
But she admits that SAS training didn’t compare to any of that.
The 38 year old split from her husband of five years Scott Gardner back in January, explaining that after ten years together, the couple had ‘grown apart’.
Here, she tells OK! why being an Olympian gave her no headstarts…
What did the fitness tests entail to sign up? They do a ramp test [on an exercise bike] and they do an ECG to make sure your heart is functioning correctly because of the risk of sudden death syndrome, and a maximal exertion test. Did you and the other ex-professional athletes have a physical advantage? No – not for me because I have been retired since 2012. I am not in the same physical form now that I was then.
Did you have your phone?
No! You don’t even have a deodorant. You’ve got a box of basic medical supplies, two sets of clothes and three sets of pants. No showers. We smelled really fresh by the end of it. [Laughs] And the loo is a piece of wood with a hole cut in it over a tin. Me and Jeremy [Irvine] got involved with burning what was in there! Have you learned anything about yourself? It’s incredibly liberating to be pushing your limit in that way. Being uncomfortable makes you truly appreciate how much you have to offer. It makes you very resilient.