Victoria Pendleton

That is a good article, looking forward to the documentary.

There are all kinds of problems with athletics coaches getting involved romantically with the athletes, it's not far from a teacher/student thing.

Yet there is a love story at the heart of this film. Shortly before Beijing, Pendleton and Gardner fell for each other. They did not begin their relationship until they had first told Sutton. Their mentor was taken aback, if not entirely surprised. He advised Pendleton and Gardner not to reveal their feelings publicly until after the Olympics.

"The bottom line is that Scott broke protocol," Sutton suggests now. "You don't get involved with the athletes. Had the real Shane Sutton stepped up to the mark at that particular point I would have said for Scott to probably walk then. But the problem then was that he added so much value." "It was hard," Gardner says simply. "It was hard but you can't deny love. And we fell in love … at work."

At the time Pendleton was 27, Gardner 32. They were both single and their relationship affected no one else. Falling in love with a work colleague is not an entirely novel concept. It's only forbidden in elite sport. "We knew that any relationship between an athlete and a coach was fraught with complications," Pendleton tells me, "and regarded as unethical and unacceptable. There are justified reasons for strict boundaries between a male coach and a much younger female athlete. The scope for abuse is obvious if a teenage gymnast or swimmer is being courted by her adult coach. I thoroughly support all limitations which curb the chances of a grown man taking advantage of a vulnerable girl. It was different with Scott and me. We were consenting adults. It felt natural and lovely. But it unleashed a situation we're still recovering from."