She was aged 7 and used to imagine herself competing against the world's best as she ran around the hills on the family sheep farm.
"But I didn't cement it until I left Rangi Ruru High School and decided to focus on athletics," she said. "I got frustrated playing team sports, because the effort you put in didn't always bring the outcome you wanted.
"I just love the purity of athletics. Everything is measurable. I was always good at athletics at school and thought I would have a serious crack."
Wardell finished 23rd in the heptathlon at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 but wants a top 10 spot at London next year.
"Beijing was incredible but it was also a wow factor, which I think everyone goes through," she said.
"I've matured a lot since then and feel comfortable competing at that level. It will be easier focusing on my performance at London instead of just on the Olympics itself."
She found it hard coping with the hype and noise in the massive stadium at Beijing. They were hard lessons but she is now more relaxed in the big arena.
The February earthquake the track, pool, and gymnasium facilities at QE2 Park in Christchurch and upset Wardell's preparations for the Olympics.
"The gym had shifted in the earthquake, there were ongoing aftershocks, and day-to-day living was not very nice," she said.
Wardell was a house tutor at Rangi Ruru Girls School but had to shift to a motel after the accommodation at the school was destroyed.
When it became obvious that QE2 was not going to be repaired, she made a decision to leave.
The options were to travel to Timaru for training each week or transfer to Auckland or Dunedin.
She chose Dunedin because her strength coach Angus Ross lives in the city.
"It may not be as warm as Auckland but it's a much easier place to live," Wardell said.
"I've made it my home and it feels pretty good."
Wardell likes Dunedin because the facilities at the Caledonian Ground track and the world class facility at the Forsyth Barr Stadium are close together.
"I turn 34 next week and this is my last crack at doing something amazing. I don't see any point in doing it half-pie. I owe it to everyone who's helped me out to do it 100%."
Wardell was heading for a bronze medal in the heptathlon at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last year when she broke a ligament in her foot in two places in the 200m, after four of the eight disciplines.
She could not run for nearly 12 months and replaced this form of training with rowing, cycling , swimming and a huge amount of work in the gymnasium.
It has worked in Wardell's favour because she is now a lot stronger.
"It has given me a massive base that I didn't have time to develop in the past," Wardell said.
"I am 10% stronger than I used to be. It is a blessing in disguise."
Before Delhi she could lift 82kg in her standard power clean. It is now 95kg.
Otago sprint coach Brent Ward described Wardell as the most dedicated athlete he had ever seen in New Zealand.
Wardell works as a house tutor at Columba College and works one day each week for the High Performance Sport NZ in Dunedin.
Her personal best heptathlon score is 6108 and the qualifying standard for London is 6050 points.
Fact file
Rebecca Wardell
Age: 33.
Home town: Christchurch
Education: Masters degree in Transport Engineering
Occupation: Athlete
Sport: Athletics
Coach: Andrew Maclennan
Event: Heptathlon
Record: New Zealand representative since 2001, competed at World University Games 2001 (semifinalist) and 2005 (9th), Commonwealth Games 2006 (7th) and 2010, world championships 2003, Olympic Games 2008 (23rd)Personal best score: 6108 points (Ratingen 2008)
