TV presenter Gabby Logan talks about her sporting life, the legacy of London 2012 and why women should be talking about heart health

KEEPING fit is a family affair in Gabby Logan’s household. While the TV presenter is working out in her gym at home, seven-year-old twins Reuben and Lois can often be found kickboxing and cartwheeling nearby.

It’s something Gabby and her husband, former Scotland rugby international Kenny Logan, encourage.

“We’ll all go swimming together, the kids have been on a run with me and we’ll go for bike rides,” she says.

Her own childhood was exceptionally sportfilled.

The daughter of the Welsh international footballer and manager Terry Yorath, she competed for Wales at international level in rhythmic gymnastics and was due to represent her country at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, but she was forced to retire two years earlier, aged 17, because of sciatica.

Gabby, 39, who was the first woman to host Match Of The Day, doesn’t know if her children will ever take up competitive sport, but for now keeping active and healthy is something she wants them to enjoy.

She doesn’t have a strict fitness regime herself, but likes to keep her exercise routine varied from week to week. “I’m a working mum, so every week’s different. I try to train a few times a week – swimming, a bit of running, conditioning, a little bit of yoga,” she says.

That kind of sporting variety is part of the London 2012 legacy, she believes.

She is well placed to comment. Every night during the Olympics, Logan fronted a BBC round-up programme, interviewing the day’s competitors and medal winners.

But it’s not just Olympic glory that Gabby sees as the goal of taking part in sport. Heart health is of particular importance as, tragically, her younger brother Daniel died aged 15 of a congenital heart problem.

A long-time supporter of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), she is working with Flora pro.activ and the BHF on the Love Your Heart campaign to raise awareness of heart disease among women.

“That kind of loss for a family is really traumatic, so that’s what we want to avoid. Heart disease is now a bigger killer of women than breast cancer,” she says.

But recent research reveals that women aren’t talking about this major health risk, nor the ways they can lower cholesterol and improve heart health.

“It’s only through talking about the key indicators and raising awareness in that respect that we’ll become more aware of it.

“We’ve become such a looks-focused society now, but the heart is internal, so it’s not always obvious that somebody has heart disease, because it is usually associated with big men who eat chip butties.”

She adds: “If you’re thinking about the food that you eat for your heart, you’ll probably find it really difficult to be overweight. I want women to be strong and fit and healthy so that they can keep being the powerhouses they are.”

  • Gabby Logan is working with Flora pro.activ and the British Heart Foundation on the Love Your Heart campaign. For details visit loveyourheart.com