AMID her greatest moment, Christine Ohuruogu took precious little time to dwell. “To be honest I don’t recall very much,” she confides of the golden night in the summer of 2008 when she bolted from fourth to first in an astonishing closing act of the 400 metres final to add to the Olympic title to her world crown from the year before. She has kept souvenirs from Beijing, the stuffed mascots included. And of course the gold medal. Rarely has she watched back a video of her tour de force.
Always moving forward, never looking back. Which means the 32-year-old Londoner has little idea of what emotions might be stirred when she returns onto the track of the Bird’s Nest tonight for her first round heats at the world championships. “I try to go in with a blank slate if possible,” the defending champion affirms.
“I don’t want any hang-ups from 2008. But I think that will be near impossible, there will be memories from 2008. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop that from happening. I’m in no way trying to repress them. But when you’ve gone through so many stadia and gone to so many places, it all gets jumbled.”
The greatest clarity for Ohuruogu has always been found when the stakes have been at their highest. Some blitz through their summers, traversing the circuit in search of prize money, but then flaming out in sight of the championship line. By contrast, she has made a specialism of timing her runs to perfection, confounding recent form to deliver when it matters most.
Hence, arriving in China as only the 13th–fastest woman of 2015 should not be perceived as a death knell, especially when great rival Sanya Richards-Ross and her compatriot Francena McCorory, ranked first and third respectively, are absent. That they failed to make the American team proves such lists are an inexact analysis.
“Going to championships is not just about the physical preparation,” she confirms. “It’s the mental preparation as well. It’s all those things put together. People say I have a knack for doing it and I can’t deny it. But it’s having good coaches and good guidance and knowing your body. If I look back at the last ten years, I shock myself when I see what I’ve been able to put out. It’s more psychological than physical.”
The chance of a third world gold, never achieved by a British woman, will be a spur here. Beyond, even toward Rio, and it is into the unknown. Pondering life after athletics and the search for a second career is something Ohuruogu deliberately avoids. “I just fear that if I start thinking too much about what I'll be doing I'll get heavily distracted and training might not seem so fun anymore when you've got so many other exciting things you could be doing,” she reveals. “One of the reasons I've been able to last so long in what I'm doing is because I'm so focused on being an athlete and trying to perform.”
Outside her bubble, there are still numerous schools she has promised to visit. And the wealth of support for younger athletes that she provides with little fanfare. Why stop when the legs are still running, she laughs. “I could retire tomorrow and be happy but I love what I’m doing. I really enjoy this strange event that is the 400. It’s crazy but for some reason I like it. I can’t really do anything else. But I enjoy being part of the team and doing my job. That’s why we’re here.”
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