Olympic Body: Zara Dampney - beach volleyball
Age: 25
From: Bournemouth
Weight: 65kg
Height: 180cm (5ft 11in)
Motto: Keep on fighting
Medals: Beach volleyball British champion, 2011, with Shauna Mullin.
Training: We train six days a week for about six hours a day. We always do one sand session a day, sometimes two, where we concentrate on improving technique. We also work on our passing, setting, hitting and ball control. The rest of our training is made up of weight sessions in the gym as well as cardio and core work.
Diet and food: I eat a lot of protein every day. I tend to have a bigger breakfast and lunch and then smaller portions in the evening. Because we train hard we’re likely to have lean bodies and not much fat but how I look is not the most important thing to me. I don’t understand the fascination with our kit. I do wish people would look at the sport, rather than the outfits.
Drinks: I tend to drink a lot of water and also electrolytes. I like ginger tea with lemon when I wake up — it’s good for detoxing.
Treats: Sometimes we do eat treats as I believe in everything in moderation. I really like any type of cheese at all — runny, blue or cheddar, it doesn’t really matter. And I like crisps, as long as they’re cheesy.
Beauty: We’re in the sun a lot so I use a really high factor sun cream. We always buy it in Australia and New Zealand because it’s really good there, so we buy lots. At the moment I’m using Neutrogena Factor 70. I also moisturise my skin but any old moisturiser will do.
Hair: I don’t really do anything with it except use some Moroccan Oil. It helps keep it smooth and looks good too.
Shaving: We are sponsored by a laser hair removal company. It’s an ongoing thing but the results are permanent hair removal.
Spa: Love to but we’ve no time for spas.
Bad habits: I’m quite bad at not replying to text messages. I read them and then forget. My boyfriend also says I drive too close to the kerb.
Favourite body part: Legs. They are long and toned.
Least favourite body part: My feet. They are really ugly. I’ve got suckers. My toes curl over — I think it’s because of all the gripping on sand I’ve done.
Sex and the Olympics: It’s the end of a four-year cycle for a lot of athletes so there is going to be some kind of release at the end of it. Why not?
Other sports: I did the 100 metres hurdles when I was younger, and was quite good at it, competing at county level. Now when I have any time off I just want to lie down and rest.
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Passion: I’ve got a passion for Gossip Girl. I love watching it. It helps me relax at the end of the day and I love looking at all the outfits. It’s far away from what I do.
Bottoms-up to FO-lleyball! Fordham's American Craft Beer sponsors British Women's Beach Volleyball Champions in a campaign to get London trying something new.
