Olympic skeleton gold medallist says her career took huge toll on her body

Winter Olympic gold medallist Amy Williams says her skeleton career took such a toll on her body that she has sold her home and moved into a bungalow.

Williams, Great Britain's only medallist in the 2010 Games in Vancouver, said four knee operations and her "dodgy back" meant she struggles with stairs.

The 36-year-old, who was awarded an MBE in 2010, retired in 2012.

"I'm a little bit broken," she said.

Speaking to Peter Allen and Caroline Barker on BBC Radio 5 live, she added: "I've got some dodgy discs in my lower back and neck. I've had four major knee operations. I'm in the chiropractor every few weeks and it is quite tough. Sometimes you think 'was it worth it?' but instantly you say it was worth it.

"I sold my townhouse, I live in a bungalow now. My knees really do not like stairs or doing much at all. It's hard because I'm still an active person. I still love to keep fit. I started to do lots of yoga which is less stressful on the knees. I still like to go for a jog but if I go too far I then can't really walk for a week.

"My knees are definitely a result of that wear and tear of training three times a day since I was 15 or 16. And my back, my disc problems, are definitely from a bad crash when I first started, plus a few more crashes.

"I get a lot of nerve pain and problems. That's why I finished because I was on painkillers pretty much my whole career and epidural injections all the time. The doctors were saying 'you should really stop this' and I thought 'yeah I should'.

"I now just learn to live with it."

After retiring Williams went into TV presenting and has fronted BBC's Ski Sunday and Five's Gadget Show. Earlier this year she was part of the BBC's commentary team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.