Badminton: That's it, says Olympic star Jo

She will spend this weekend with mum and dad in Sussex after having a scan to check the progress of her third child in between daily visits to a toddlers' group.

"I live for my family and coffee mornings," Goode laughed after waving off her fellow mums to speak to The Argus.

It is a far cry from the blood, sweat, tears and glory of a glittering 13-year career that saw her win a record seven Commonwealth Games gold medals, a European gold, a World silver and an Olympic bronze.

Initially she is reluctant to confirm the end of it.

"Probably" was the best I could get.

Eventually one of her sport's great players admitted the die was cast.

"I hadn't realised my decision had got out but, yes, I am retiring and the chances of coming back are very slim."

You assume it has everything to do with her expecting either a brother or sister for Jack, four, and Molly, 18 months.

Returning to the top from giving birth to one child is impressive, a second coming close to surreal.

A third would seem like a trip into Michael Jackson's Never Never Land: pure fantasy.

Certainly it is something to do with it.

She said: "I'm enjoying being a full-time mother.

"I've been taking Molly to toddlers every day this week and Jack, because he's on half-term, has been with us to.

"It is totally different, say, to the weeks I spent before the Olympics.

"I'd be out the door at eight, off to Milton Keynes for a nine-until-11 training session and an hour's break before another two-hour session. I wasn't home until five after picking Jack up from nursery. I did it for five days a week for months leading up to the Olympics. It was shattering.

"I love my new lifestyle as I'm able to devote myself full-time to being a mum.

"There are the physical problems being a mother presents if you want to play top badminton. I took four months to return after Jack and six after Molly. It was harder getting back the second time because being pregnant gave me a back problem.

"I would guess it would take even longer and be even more physically demanding to get back a third time."

Dig a little deeper and you discover another reason.

There had to be. Motherhood had never stood in her way before.

She could not face the prospect of having to settle for second best.

Her vulnerability began to take root as she and partner Simon Archer prepared for their gold-medal display at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester last year.

Goode said: "I wasn't enjoy the training. I'd not felt like that before. I didn't think we could reach the level we were at before then so I didn't see the point of it.

"It wasn't a question of losing my competitiveness. That is always there. It was more that people in this country were getting close to us and after being so long at the top I didn't like that. My pride was hurt. As it turned out, the pill wasn't that bitter to swallow because we got the gold.

"But I don't think I could do all that again and get up to the level I want to be at. It would be too difficult and I wouldn't want to mosey along just doing okay.

"Simon has had his injury problems and I don't think the knee he has had trouble with will ever be right, although I'm not sure he would tell you that. I don't think we, as a partnership, could get back to as good as we were."

Also there was the question of success saturation.

"I felt there was nothing left for me to achieve. I've had a fantastic career and 30 seems to be a watershed for women badminton players. I have had a pretty good run at the top."

She picks through the scrapbook and all the major championship medal-winning performance were highlights.

It seems the Olympic bronze was the most satisfying.

"It was my defining moment as a badminton player.

"The stress of it all was unbelievable. When we won the medal I felt thank God for that. I"d gone through so much, getting myself fit after Jack and the matches through the tournament, losing in the semi-final and then having to lift ourselves the next day for the medal play-off. It blew my mind. It was such a relief. But ultimately it was a real high because of what it means and what I had gone through to get it.

"I'll miss the big moments, playing the big finals, suffering the nerves, even though we had to go through what we went through in Sydney. I suppose there's a bit of the masochist in me."

Her triumphs were largely shared with Archer, the former Warden Park schoolboy from Cuckfield. They had a magic formula.

"We were both very ambitious, had a lot of respect for each other and worked hard. It's nice when you are putting in the effort to know your partner is too.

"We got on better on court than off because of a clash of personalities. Simon's a bit of an egotist and I found it difficult to deal with, although we are getting on better than we ever did when we were playing together."

She had a list of people to thank: husband Andy, mum Jenny, dad Chris and Sussex coach Karen Chapman.

"There's a fine line between balancing your career and your home life and it has been tiring. The discipline of it helped me focus. I knew I had had a certain time to train and certain time to be with Jack and Molly. My children got quality time.

"Without the support I've had I couldn't have done it."

She is mapping her future.

"I'm staying home seeing my kids grow. Being there to drop Jack off to school and pick him up at the end of the day. These are days that will be gone soon enough and I don't want to miss them.

"I might do a bit of part-time coaching and give something back to the sport, particularly if I find a young prospect. But I don't want to coach full time. There would be more demands on my time than there were as a player.

"I've got a degree and intend to go into primary school teaching."

In the meantime she hopes her career will be rounded off by an honour from the Queen.

"An MBE, OBE, whatever, I don't mind. Maybe I'll get one now I've retired."

Over to you, Your Majesty.