Katarina Johnson-Thompson has revealed that her mother Tracey pushed her into doing ballet before beginning a career in athletics.

The 20-year-old impressed at London 2012 during the heptathlon event that Jessica Ennis-Hill eventually won, but she has admitted that her career could have gone into a different direction.

"My mum was a showgirl," Johnson-Thompson told the Daily Mail. "She used to dance all around the world. It's how she met my dad. She really wanted me to dance so she pushed me, literally when I was in a nappy, into dance lessons.

"I was like a tomboy, though. I hated it. I was a little Billy Elliot because I was like a little boy. It was like having two secret identities - I was like a boy in my football kit and then I used to go and do ballet."

Johnson-Thompson managed to get an audition at the Royal Ballet School in London when she was eight years old.