Golden girl ready for Gateshead

Aug 30 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

Christine Ohuruogu and Natasha Danvers can expect a heroes’ welcome in Gateshead tomorrow but both are determined to take no notice. Stuart Rayner reports.

BRITAIN’S Olympians have been the centre of attention since returning from Beijing with an impressive 47 medals. Although track and field failed to reach UK Athletics’ performance targets, the Olympic Games is inextricably linked with athletics in the national psyche.

The four athletes who returned from China with medals will get another reminder of their popularity at tomorrow’s Gateshead Grand Prix, the first event in this country since Beijing, sandwiched between audiences with Gordon Brown and the Queen. With the London Olympics four years away, it is something they will have to get used to.

As the only Briton among the eight Olympic gold medalists on show tomorrow, 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu has a simple solution. “I don’t really care too much about what people expect of me,” she said. “I felt there was a lot of pressure so I learned to deal with that and make sure I did what I had to.

“As long as I know what I have to do on the day, then I will be fine.”

Her team-mate, 400m hurdle bronze medalist Natasha Danvers – also in the North East this weekend, along with Phillips Idowu and Germaine Mason – is in total agreement. “If you take on board every opinion you hear you’ll go absolutely stark raving mad,” she says. “Everyone has an opinion about what you should do, when you should be doing it, what you should achieve, when you should achieve it by.

“They don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes so you’ve got to take that with a grain of salt, focus on your coach’s plans and just do your best.”

Ohuruogu and Danvers are well aware of the fickle nature of their professions. While the former’s career was on hold for a year after the apparent dizziness which saw her banned for missing three drugs tests, the latter skipped the Athens Olympics because she was pregnant with her son, Jaden.

“Woah! Athens was rough,” she exclaims. “I was in great shape in 2003, I set a personal best of 54.02, I was doing very well on the European circuit, I missed out through bad tactics in the final of the World Championships but I expected only good things in 2004.

“There’s going to be a lot of outside pressure on us in 2012 and it’s going to take a lot of skill to not allow that to interfere with their performances.

“Those that have competed at Beijing will understand that to some degree but it’s going to be different in London and we’re going to have to prepare even more to counter-act that.

“I’m a late developer. I’m one of the athletes that you’ll find will do well into my 30s.

“Kris Akabusi got most of his medals when he was in his 30s, Linford Christie, Jonathan Edwards, Sally Gunnell, Kelly Holmes. It’s not as if you should be getting your walking stick and zimmer frame.

“I can see impatience being an issue and that’s why it’s so important for the athletes to realise there’s a lot could happen between now and then. ”

Personal pride will dictate neither takes it easy in Gateshead, but when her season ends, Ohurougu will seek simple pleasures, saying: “I’d like to finish my season first, then have my break when you can do whatever you like – eat crap or whatever.

“It will just be nice to stay in bed, get up after 10 and go for a McDonald’s Drive Thru.”

TICKETS are available on the day from £12. (2.10pm start).