An inspirational Lewisham cancer survivor is stepping out of her comfort zone by having a go at every Olympic event open to women.

Freya Rodgers, 55, the Woodlands, Lewisham, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2012.

After six months of chemotherapy she had lost her fitness and hearing about women in sport inspired her to begin the challenge, dubbed the Freyathlon.

Ms Rodgers said: “I came up with the idea in June last year, I was listening to the radio and they were discussing women in sport, and why and what the barriers were.

“I thought about my own experience with sport, then I thought, ‘gosh, the Olympics are next year’ and that was it.

“When I was diagnosed with cancer I was not able to be active at all, I was shocked at how weak I was, how difficult it was to rebuild my fitness and health.”

Ms Rodgers has already completed 21 of the 41 events that women can compete in at the Olympics, trying her hand at everything from BMXing to trampolining to table tennis.

She said: “The only one women don’t do is Greco-Roman wrestling and I’m quite relived about that.

“I’m trying to do as many of the sports as possible in Lewisham and for free to make the point that being active doesn’t have to break the bank.”

News Shopper:

Ms Rogers will complete 41 Olympic events

Ms Rogers has found that pushing herself to complete the challenge has changed her outlook on sport and exercise overall.

She said: “I loved playing rugby, if I were a bit younger I would be signing up, but my body can’t cope with that now.

“There are quite a few that I thought gosh I really loved that, it will be really interesting to look back and think ‘what would I love to do on a regular basis.’

“Being active is for anyone, in the past I have probably thought I can’t possibly do this, but doing this challenge I’ve got to go and give it a go.

“It has made me think there is no reason why I can’t do them, it makes you feel better about yourself.”

Some events are more challenging than others.

Ms Rodgers said: “I’m a little bit nervous about diving and gymnastics, I don’t think that will be pretty.

“I think it is right to be nervous, but when I’ve approached people I’ve found people that are able and willing to help and make sure I can do things safely.

“I’m glad I’ve done trampolining but I’m not going to be rushing back.”

Ms Rogers isn’t sure whether she would have pushed herself to try the different sports had she not been diagnosed with cancer.

She said: “Getting the diagnosis, it reset an awful lot of things for me.

"When I finished treatment I decided I was going to say yes to a lot more things, yes I’m going to have a go, yes it’s going to be a challenge.

“I think that, probably, if I hadn’t gone through treatment, with the good care and support that I had, I might not be doing this.”

You can follow Ms Rodgers journey here.