“It’s been really weird adjusting because Tokyo was so intense due to the Covid rules and it was really emotional leaving behind something that was so special and that you know you’ll never be part of again,” she admits.
“There was sadness at probably the end of my Olympic journey and it took time to come to terms with it. I was busy and loads of amazing post-Olympic experiences but it took me time to find the emotional energy for anything else.
“I felt flat and was going through the motions, telling myself I should be happier and enjoy things more, but I think that’s part of the process of the Games coming to an end. Over time it goes and you start to feel yourself and really motivated for new things.”
Q – Like becoming a new mum! You’re also expanding your environmental work. How did your passion for that and sustainability come about?
“It was in the build-up to the Rio Olympics,” Hannah reveals.
“The plastic pollution (around the Guanabara Bay in Brazil), I’d never seen anything quite as bad as I saw it in Rio and it really got me thinking, researching and educating myself.
“Plastic was kind of my gateway into the rest of sustainability, so I’ve been on that journey since Rio to learn more and understand the very complex problem that we’re trying to solve globally.”