In a cavernous converted warehouse shoe-horned away in a long forgotten corner of east Manchester, Sarah Stevenson feels safe from the hype which promises to mark her out as one of Great Britain's brightest gold medal chances for Beijing.
It is just how the 25-year-old taekwondo athlete likes it. Stevenson has no truck with profile or celebrity, and gives short shrift to the few who venture here expecting a tale of street-fighting youth made good.
"I hate it when people come and ask me about whether I had fights when I was young and was taken down to the gym to get the aggression out of me, or rubbish like that,'' says Stevenson.
"Where I lived in Doncaster there was a taekwondo club round the corner and everybody in my family went, so it was a natural thing for me to start too. That's as good as the story gets.''
Not quite. Stevenson headed to Sydney in 2000 as the youngest member of Team GB, aged just 17 and not expected to get a medal. She came within one kick of doing just that, losing in heartbreaking fashion in her semi-final.
It was the first time taekwondo had featured as a full Olympic sport and suggested a bright future was in store for Stevenson once the slew of extra funding kicked into place.
Four years later she headed to Athens as one of the gold medal favourites, but a previous nine-month stint on the sidelines with a knee injury caught up with her, and she was beaten in the opening match.
"The whole experience in Sydney was amazing because I didn't really know what was happening to me and before I knew it I was in the semi-final and coming close to winning a medal,'' added Stevenson.
"There was disappointment at missing out, but excitement at having got that far. Athens was much more disappointing but that's what happens in taekwondo, and a lot of it depends on the luck of the draw.''
There will be few athletes in Beijing who are as enthusiastic about their sport. Stevenson has committed herself full-time to the pursuit of Olympic glory and rents a flat in the nearby Sport City complex in Manchester.
Training means total commitment for Stevenson and her fellow team members, but the rewards are plain to see. Stevenson picked up gold as one of eight medals won by the British team at the high-profile Dutch Open in February.
"It's not that getting to the Olympics has changed the sport much because we've always had the same taekwondo competitions and we all take it just as seriously,'' added Stevenson.
"But it's certainly raised the international profile and more importantly, brought the funding which allows us to live up here and train full-time. That has made a massive difference to our chances of success.''
The next stage for British taekwondo development is to make inroads into the traditional domination of the sport by the Asian nations, in particular China and South Korea.
Of the eight taekwondo gold medals awarded at the Athens Games, four each for men and women, six were won by athletes representing China, South Korea or Chinese Taipei.
"I think it's certainly possible now that we've got the funding and structure and facilities in place that we can start to make real inroads in the traditional dominance of the Asian nations,'' says Performance Director Gary Hall.
"I would say we're right up there with the strongest in Europe now, if not already the strongest. We've looked at the Chinese system and worked closely within it. We believe that experience will enable us to really challenge them.''
Stevenson's biggest is almost certain to be provided by the reigning Olympic champion at the 67kg, Luo Wei. But Stevenson beat the world number one Chinese athlete at the 2005 World Championships.
"Obviously she's going to start as a big favourite especially because she has home advantage and the weight categories will work in her favour,'' admitted Stevenson.
"Put it this way, I'd rather not draw her in the first round. But I've beaten her before and there's no reason I can't do it again. Forget the hype. I'm going to go there and do my best, and if it isn't good enough then so be
More news from SportingLife.com
