Speaking just 10 days after the death of her mother from cancer, the 28-year-old from Doncaster told insidethegames: "I am just looking forward to January 1, 2012.

"I want to leave 2011 behind and go for gold in 2012 because I feel it's all I've got left – it's all I want, really.

"I'm doing it now for my mum and dad.

"When they got their diagnoses at the beginning of this year, one of the first things they said to me was 'You've got to go to the worlds and the Olympics'.

"They both wanted to see me at the Olympics.

"So I've got to hope now that they will be watching me from somewhere else.

"If I do win gold I think I will be a blubbering wreck because it will mean that much more to me.

"I think I'm doing all right at the moment, but it's hard to say.

"Sometimes I'm a bit of a mess.

"At the moment I am just trying to occupy myself and keep myself in shape.

"It's difficult to find a reason or a focus for doing more."

Stevenson's mother was diagnosed as being terminally ill in January, by which time her father, who had a brain tumour, was also very ill.

Despite these circumstances, Stevenson went on to win her second world title, at welterweight, a decade after she had previously won it.

"A week before the World Championships I thought 'I can't do this'," she recalled.

"But I managed to pull myself together on the day.

"So I realise I can do the same thing at the Olympics.

"If I perform like I did at the worlds then that would get me the gold.

"It's what I'm going for and I know I can do it.

"I've beaten everyone who can stand in my way.

"But we will have to see what happens on the day.

"I think I got some extra strength at the worlds from what was going on at the time.

"It made you realise it wasn't life and death, like it was at home.

"It took the pressure off, in a way.

"I just thought, it's sport, it's a competition, so let's have it..."


Stevenson accepts that competing on home soil next year might make her less vulnerable to the kind of errant officiating that proved so controversial in her quarter-final bout at the Beijing Olympics (pictured, above).

There, the judges failed to award her two points for a kick to the head of China's Chen Zhong, the gold-medal favourite, that would have won her the contest.

The result was reversed in her favour on appeal and she went on to win Britain's first Olympic medal in the event.

"I don't really dwell on those kind of issues," she said.

"What happened in Beijing was really dodgy.

"I'm quite confident it won't happen again.

"But you never know what's round the corner."

Stevenson has booked a holiday in Lanzarote over the new year with her husband and coach, Stephen Jennings, her niece and nephew, and their mother and father.

"Having the kids there with us will keep us busy," she said.

"I think it will be good in a way.

"But I can't even imagine what Christmas is going to be like."

Contact the author of this article at [email protected]


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