Lauren Steadman: British Para-triathlete on defending titles, Tokyo 2020 and Strictly Come Dancing

Steadman won the Paralympic test event in Tokyo in August

Taking part in Strictly Come Dancing in the middle of a Paralympic cycle was always going to be a bold decision for Lauren Steadman.

"I managed to lose about 6kg in muscle mass, so I lost all of the power I need for swimming and on the bike," she says.

Yet a year out from the Tokyo 2020 Games, and before the upcoming Para-triathlon world and European Championships, all that jiving and waltzing appears to have paid off, perhaps unexpectedly.

"I think being on the dance floor has helped my running," the 26-year-old tells BBC Sport.

"It definitely gave me a much stronger core and my ankle flexibility got really good. While I lost my power, I gained lots of other stuff that perhaps if I hadn't done Strictly, I wouldn't have.

"I haven't done the cha-cha in any of my run sessions yet though."

On Sunday, Steadman - who won Paralympic silver in the PT4 triathlon at Rio 2016 - will defend her title at the World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, before doing the same at the Europeans in Valencia, Spain, in September.

Having only competed in two events since her return to international competition in June, Steadman knows retaining her titles will be a tall order but is determined to give it her "best shot".

"I have not quite got the engine that I had last year," she says. "I'm still going to go in not really expecting to win or to be on the podium. I'm going to go in and deliver the best that I can.

"I will fight until the last moment across the line and hope it's a performance that gives me justification."

'I was in a lot of pain' - triathlon return

During her seven months away from Para-triathlon, Steadman says the sport has "evolved" as the standard of competition gets "harder and faster".

But she has returned loaded up with a "new lease of energy", despite it hurting at first.

"It was quite difficult to transition from being flexible, mobile and being able to dance to a rhythm into the linear movements I need to be powerful and strong, so in the first couple of weeks I was in a lot of pain," she says.

"Dancers are fit but it's not triathlon-specific so it was really, really difficult."

Earlier this month, Steadman won gold at the World Cup in Tokyo, which doubled up as the test event for next year's Paralympics.

The event was changed at the last-minute to a duathlon - a format Steadman had never raced before - after high levels of E.coli were found in the water.

"It was a little bit frustrating," she says. "But for me it was just about going out there and racing in the heat.

"It was so humid out there, even just to walk outside you found yourself getting really, really sweaty.

"In the race, I felt quite good. I've done a little bit of work in the heat but it was definitely a lot harder than if we were racing in the UK."

Steadman crossed the finish line one minute 30 seconds ahead of British team-mate Claire Cashmore, and said victory was "totally unexpected".

"Having come away with the win. it really meant something to me," she says. "To cross the line and feel as though I'm back up there racing with the best in the world, it's given me a bit of confidence going into the next couple of races."

From Strictly sequins to Tokyo preparation

Steadman and dancing partner AJ Pritchard reached the Strictly semi-finals

Steadman was the second Paralympian to take part in Strictly after Jonnie Peacock, a two-time T44 100m Paralympic champion, competed in the 2017 series.

This year's edition will see Rio 2016 table tennis gold medallist Will Bayley - famous for jumping on the table after winning his Paralympic title - strut his stuff on the dance floor.

"Will is such an energetic and passionate athlete - I think that is going to shine across," says Steadman.

"I want people to realise that it's all about the mindset. As AJ [Pritchard - Steadman's Strictly partner] said last year, it's definitely not about disability, it's about ability.

"From what happened to me last year, I hope Will has a similar experience in that he inspires older generations, younger generations and the families at home watching."

Bayley will take part in the show with less than a year until the Paralympics get under way, and having experienced a taster for the Games in Tokyo, Steadman can't wait to see what the next year holds.

"I was really nervous [about doing Strictly] because you don't see many athletes do it in the middle of an Olympic or Paralympic cycle, they normally do it when they have retired," she says.

"I had an amazing experience and I've managed to bounce back off that and deliver some performances, so it has been an amazing year.

"I'm really excited for Tokyo. A year is going to go so fast. By the time we get up and running after a little break after the Europeans, we're looking at six or seven months before we start to wind down to get ready for the best performance of our lives."