Laura trott why is she bald

She said a fan had contacted her on Twitter to tell her about the special day. She said: "I thought 'wow, that's a bit spooky that our Olympic final is the same day'. When I was younger I used to focus really hard on my school work. I didn't have much confidence in my appearance and I became very, very focused on my studies. That was great. I wasn't going to stop; I wasn't going to let it hold me back.

She said she had received messages of support from the public which helped on her way to victory. It's always going to be a part of me, so I may as well embrace it and hopefully inspire other girls.

Rowsell was diagnosed with the condition, which causes loss of hair from the head or body, at the age of And her win in the women's cycling team pursuit at the velodrome could not have come at a better time - it fell on International Alopecia Day which seeks to raise awareness of the condition.

She said a fan contacted her on Twitter on Saturday to tell her about the special day: "I thought, 'Wow, that's a bit spooky that our Olympic final is the same day'. She added: "I hope I can be an inspiration to other girls with the condition and help raise awareness of it. I wasn't really confident on going out and doing the usual teenage things. I didn't have much confidence in my appearance and I became very, very focused on my studies.

But she also wept as she asked her parents why this was happening to her, and whether they could help fix an immune system disorder that was later diagnosed as incurable. Her alopecia had completely set in by the time she was 11, but at 15 Rowsell was identified by scouts who visited her high school in Sutton, Surrey. They encouraged her to update the old treadley gathering dust in her parents' garage.

She had a new focus. It was good for her and she was good at it. It suddenly didn't matter what I looked like, it was about performing on the bike and that's what I was judged on," Rowsell said after her team's victory at the Olympic velodrome. That was the best feeling ever. When, at age 16, her hair started growing back, Rowsell believed the happiness she was deriving from training was the trigger.