Gemma Gibbons: I could have joined Charlton Athletic but the training was on the same night as judo Where did you go to school and was sport an important part of school life? I went to Westwood Technology College, sport was a massive part of my schooling. I loved all sports and was very competitive, playing in netball, basketball, football, rugby and rounders teams. How did you get started in judo? My mum took me along to a club when I was six. Even at that age I was really competitive. I just never wanted to lose. I remember when I was seven and I fought in a judo competition in France and I got a silver. I was absolutely gutted and everyone said "you've done brilliantly" but I can remember feeling it just wasn't good enough. I just knew that I wanted to be the best. I used to fight the boys mostly at the club championships. I've got video footage of me fighting boys more than girls because I was very big for my age. I was really tall. I've been the same size since I was 12. I had the same size feet and I was tall as I am now. Did you excel at any other sports? I was pretty much the best in most sports at my school. I was a really big fan of football and when I was about 13 I went to a Charlton Athletic junior training evening and they wanted me to come back, but it was on the same night as judo training so my mum made me choose. It was my first and last football session at a pro club. How did your judo career develop? I got on to the national GB squad when I was 12 and even from that young age I was having to take a Friday or a Monday off school to go away to compete in Belgium, France or Holland at weekends. It was a big deal for me even back then. Did you win titles all the way through to seniors? Yes, but the first time I actually won the senior British trials was this year. I was always picking up silvers and had never actually managed to win that competition. Amazing, really. Did sport interfere with your schoolwork? I had to work a little bit harder to catch up on stuff that I missed from being away. But it was the biggest thing in my life. It's an all-consuming sport. How should sport be delivered in schools? My natural instinct is to say "just get everyone competing against each other" but I'm in a very small percentage of people who think like that. The biggest problem we have so many kids who are unfit and don't do enough physical activity, so the main thing we should do is get everyone doing sports they want to do. Give them the opportunity - it doesn't have to be a competitive sport. It could be dance, gymnastics or anything along those lines as long as they're having fun. Most memorable sporting moment as a schoolgirl? Outside judo, we were playing for the school football team in London against a group of schools, and we finished third out of the eight teams but I was given the Player of the Day Award. I played in every position, too. In judo, it's hard to pick out one moment. I tend to remember when I've lost. There's one memory that probably sticks out - it was my first national championships and I got silver and lost in the final. I was absolutely devastated. I was 12. Who were your sporting heroes growing up? Steve Backley, the javelin thrower, then in judo it was Kate Howey, who's my coach now, so that's really strange. She won two Olympic medals and was the golden girl then - it's great having her around. What's your advice for schoolchildren interested in pursuing a career in sport? Just give it a go and if you like it, keep going. That sounds simplistic, but you need to love a sport to get good at it. It needs to feel like fun at first. Not everyone out there can be an Olympic champion, but it's amazing what can happen when you give your all. Olympic silver medallist Gemma Gibbons competes at the 2013 World Championships taking place in Rio between 26 August-1 September.