Greg Rutherford has revealed the promise he’s made to his fiancée Susie Verrill as he discussed his brutal Dancing On Ice injury and adapting to life after his retirement.
The Olympic gold medallist, 37, who decided to hang up his spikes in 2018, told of the mental difficulties athletes face when stepping back from their sport and how he felt like a ‘liability’ when a stunt on the BBC competition went ‘horribly wrong.’
As he works with Marella Cruises to help Brits boost the five hormones crucial for happiness, Greg admitted how missing the ‘pressure of performing live’ led him to ‘battering’ his body in the TV accident.
Speaking in an interview with MailOnline, he explained: ‘I don’t miss doing what I did. With my career I was a lot more successful than I ever thought I would be, so to have done all of that I’m so proud of it, but I don’t miss the idea of training for it.
‘Maybe the crowd, I miss the performance. I think that might be why I’ve done different shows over the years so I get that side of it, the pressure of performing live.’
Greg Rutherford revealed the big promise he’s made to his fiancée Susie Verrill as he discussed his brutal Dancing On Ice injury and adapting to life after his retirement
The Olympic gold medallist, 37, who decided to hang up his spikes in 2018 due, told of the mental difficulties athletes face and how he felt like a ‘liability’ when a stunt on the BBC competition went ‘horribly wrong’ (pictured with his fiancée Susie Verrill)
He added: ‘For athletes that’s where it’s difficult because when that stops there’s a real adaptation phase that comes with it. That’s why travel is so important because it helps you realise the importance of going out and bonding with people again. You can get stuck in a rut.
The long jump champion went on to star on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 and Dancing on Ice earlier this year, but was forced to pull out.
Greg suffered a brutal injury which left him two herniated disks and a torn ab after he leapt through the legs of professional Colin Grafton during a stunt on the ice.
The bizarre incident saw him left on the ice for 10 minutes after ‘effectively giving himself a C-section’, undergoing surgery in March.
He continued: ‘Surgery was four months ago and I’m still recovering it was a shock to the system I’d gone from feeling really great to then losing all of that. My body was battered.
‘Where I have to be mindful is that I’m older so my recovery time is a lot slower, I’m not bouncing back like I used to. You don’t feel the same as you did.
‘I just promised Suzie that I won’t be doing anything else. It’s not put me off but it is a realisation. It’s not just me and although I might want to push myself still, Suzie had to look after me for a week.
‘You become a massive liability, you have to bare that in mind. I’m more conscious of everyone else around me now.’
As he works with Marella Cruises to help boost hormones crucial for happiness, Greg admitted how missing the ‘pressure of performing live’ led him to ‘battering’ his body in the TV accident
Speaking in an interview with MailOnline, he explained: ‘I don’t miss doing what I did. With my career I was a lot more successful than I ever thought I would be, but I don’t miss training for it’
Greg suffered a brutal injury which left him two herniated disks and a torn ab after he leapt through the legs of professional Colin Grafton during a stunt on Dancing On Ice
He admitted: ‘I just promised Suzie that I won’t be doing anything else. It’s not put me off but it is a realisation. My body was battered’
Greg continued: ‘You become a massive liability, you have to bare that in mind. I’m more conscious of everyone else around me now’
Greg returned from a cruise with Marella this week, where he took part in new activities from a jeep safari in Turkey, to cultural wine tasting in Cyprus and connecting with others in a bid to boost his ‘happy hormones’ and get out of a ‘rut.’
Adding of any future challenges as he finds new ways to keep busy, he admitted: ‘I’d like to do different challenges for charity. TV wise I’m not sure what is left me I’ve done most of them now, I’m sure everyone is bored of seeing my face!
‘The problem is with some of the reality shows is that you are involved for such a long time, you can’t do anything else.
‘I like a challenge that pushes me. I’m potentially looking at running a marathon,’ he said before joking that he’s keen to ‘try and relax’ – at least until after Christmas.
Greg has teamed up with Marella Cruises to encourage the nation to boost their happiness as he tests the cruise line and the University of Sheffield’s Professor of Wellbeing’s ‘Happy Hormone’ formula onboard Marella Discovery.
Greg has teamed up with Marella Cruises to encourage the nation to boost their happiness as he tests the cruise line and the ‘Happy Hormone’ formula onboard Marella Discovery
