Christmas 2009: Sports stars write their Christmas wish list

Girl power: If money were no object this Christmas, Amy Williams, British bob skeleton athlete, says "I would arrange for a skeleton, bobsleigh and luge track to be built in the countryside around Bath." Photo: GETTY IMAGES SPORT

Sports stars can be a serious bunch, but mention "Christmas" and "dream present" to them and their imagination runs wild. We asked 10 top British athletes what they would buy if money were no object.
1 Kenton Cool, climbing ace
"My dream gift would be a time machine," says the man who has climbed Everest seven times. "First, I would return to the golden age of Alpinism (1854 –1865), when all the major Alpine peaks in the world were still awaiting first ascents." He would next fire up his time machine to re‑visit some of the friends he has lost to the sport, but admits he might well zip forward for next week's lottery numbers, too.
Kenton Cool supports www.direct.gov.uk/sciencesowhat
2 Bryony Shaw, Olympic windsurfer
"I would put on a 'learn to windsurf' reality TV series," says the first British woman to win an Olympic medal in the sport. "It would be a sort of Strictly Come Windsurfing!" Shaw says the show would encourage young water sports enthusiasts who have an Olympic 2012 dream to "get their hair wet and put on a good show".
Bryony Shaw is an ambassador for www.vwescape.co.uk
3 Amy Williams, British bob skeleton athlete
"I would arrange for a skeleton, bobsleigh and luge track to be built in the countryside around Bath," says Williams, who trains at the city's university. "The British team could hold events and we could have our home track. We would make the sport more accessible to everyone. It could become part of school sport and it would get everyone more interested in winter sports."
Amy Williams is sponsored by www.coconoil.co.uk
4 Tom Daley, champion British diver
Still just 15, British diving sensation Daley has exactly the right idea when it comes to wild Christmas fantasies. "An outdoor pool full of chocolate for me," he says, "and also some skydiving lessons. I've always wanted to skydive because it would be great to be in the air for such a long time – there are so many funky dive moves I could test out on the way down." Landing, of course, would be in his very own chocolate pool. "The splash would be immense," he smiles.
Tom Daley supports www.cartoonnetwork.co.uk/ben10awards
5 Dr Tim Brabants, kayaking gold medallist
The Olympic-slaying doc says he would buy a big house on a wide, calm stretch of river, "with a heated boat shed you could paddle into and out from during the cold winter training sessions". Next, Brabants would set up huge canoe and kayak clubs for the world's best athletes and coaches which would "cater for all levels and ages, with none of those pesky rowers allowed!"
Tim Brabants is a Gatorade sports ambassador www.gatorade.co.uk
6 James DeGale, Olympic boxer
"I would have lunch with all my boxing heroes," says the gold medal winner. "Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Prince Naseem and Joe Calzaghe." DeGale reckons that the chance to listen to their stories would be unforgettable. "Hearing it all first-hand would be a great benefit to my own journey to becoming world champion," he says. "Lunch would be on me, and I'd take them all to my favourite restaurant – Nando's."
James DeGale supports www.cancerresearchuk.org/littlestar
7 Mike Phillips – Welsh international and British and Irish Lions star
You might think a suddenly wealthy scrum-half would plump for a Ferrari but, at 6ft 3in tall, Phillips prefers the idea of a 4x4 – specifically, one capable of warping him back to the summer "and that Lions tour to South Africa", he says. "It was one of the most amazing times of my life."
Mike Phillips supports www.touraid.co.uk
8 Alistair Brownlee, 2009 ITU world triathlon champion
The young Briton says: "I'd like a machine that would allow me to control the fantastic Yorkshire weather so it didn't rain while I was riding my bike." He won all five events in the ITU World Championship series that he entered this year and says he can cope with any weather when he's running, but really doesn't like getting wet when he's cycling.
www.alistairbrownlee.com
9 Ben Ainslie, triple Olympic gold-medal-winning sailor
"I'd hire Richard Branson's Necker Island and take my friends and family," says Ainslie, who attempted to break the Atlantic sailing record with Branson last year and was bowled over by the Virgin boss's stories of the island. Las Vegas rock band The Killers would provide the music and there'd be plenty of windsurfers and dinghies there for everyone to use.
Ben Ainslie's autobiography 'Close To The Wind' is out now (£10.99, Yellow Jersey Press). His Olympic campaign is sponsored by J P Morgan Asset Management
10 Paul Bonhomme, Red Bull Air Race 2009 world champion
"I'd love a nice old-fashioned stately home," says the British flying ace. "But instead of a drive, I'd like an airstrip." He would have "Jeeves at hand to move huge inflatable pylons around to arrange tracks at my beck and call". In between barbecues and pool parties, Paul would take friends and family racing in his planes, to show them views of the world at 300km/h and upside down.