Olympic champion Jessica Ennis believes that young girls should not avoid doing sport because of how it will change their figure.

The 26-year-old, who won a gold medal in the heptathlon at London 2012, has revealed that she also had the same concerns when she began training at a young age.

"It's important that girls aren't afraid of sport," Ennis told the Radio Times. "I remember when I first started doing weight training, I didn't want to be any good at it because I didn't want to be all muscly.

"My coach sat me down and said that if I had more muscles than the average woman, but won an Olympic gold medal, it would be worth it. He was right, but it's hard when you're younger and want to look like everyone else."

Ennis has been nominated as one of the 12 athletes in contention for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.