THE good news for Martyn Rooney is that he will travel to Rio next month as the recently-crowned two-time 400m European champion. The bad news for the man from Croydon is that he will probably have to run almost a second faster than his winning time in Amsterdam of 45.29 just to make the Olympic final. It is another step up in class for the amiable 29 year-old but he is under no illusions about what it will take just to line up against the likes of LaShawn Merritt, Kirani James and Wayde Van Niekerk and push, in theory, for a medal.

“In Rio my goal is just to reach the final,” he said after his Team GB place was finally confirmed last week. “There are a group of guys running low to mid 44 [seconds] and three who are looking out of this world – top 10 all-time runners. They are really doing incredible things so you have to be realistic. Unless one of them messes up it’s going to be difficult to win a medal.

“I know I need to go to the Olympics and run faster than I did at the Europeans but I’m on the right path and I’m ready to peak. The Europeans for me were the ideal preparation. I got rid of some demons. My coach tells me I think too much and I have been thinking too much this year. I let a lot of stuff go in Amsterdam and I’m now in confident mood and ready to run fast.”

A better medal prospect comes via the 4x400m relay where Rooney will join up with Matthew Hudson-Smith, Rabah Yousif and possibly also the likes of Delano Williams or Jack Green. Rooney knows from personal experience the talents of the first two who both beat him into third place in the recent Olympic trials.

“We have a really good shot of doing well in Rio in the relay. We’ve got five or six guys running well and the top three are all in great shape. Last year we only had two. So it’s going to be exciting and very competitive. I think we’ve got a great shot of winning, or at the very least making the top three. With the ability we have in the team there are medals to be won.”

Rooney will line up against Hudson-Smith and Yousif at the Muller Anniversary Games in London next weekend, his final warm-up event before he heads to Brazil. It ought to be another competitive outing, with Rooney relishing the chance to perform in front of a home crowd.

“This will be my last event before Rio and I’m going to London full of confidence,” he added. “I’ve found some kind of rhythm. It’s my hometown and I’m ready to compete there and hopefully do well. Matthew and Rabah are running as well so it’s going to be another difficult test. But that’s good. It’s great to have some competition within the UK as that’s something that maybe didn’t happen in the last few years. It’s up to me to rise to that.”

This will be one of the final athletic events at the Olympic stadium before West Ham United move in as new tenants for the start of the football season. As an avid Crystal Palace fan, Rooney views the transformation with interest.

“I kind of wish it had been planned before the way they did with Saint Denis in Paris. That’s one of the best stadia in the world and I wish they had gone with that model. It’s an athletics stadium in the summer and then football or rugby over the winter. But I think this stadium will do well too. They’ve put enough money into it so hopefully it works. Hopefully the Anniversary Games are a success and then Palace can go and do West Ham over in their new stadium next season!”

Rooney is understandably enthusiastic about his pending trip to a third Olympics, in stark contrast to some of the world’s leading male golfers. The 29 year-old has his own theories on that.

“It’s probably to do with money as much as anything,” he said. “Rory McIlroy was quite blunt about it and I’m glad he was. He said he never really dreamed about going to the Olympics, he wanted to win Majors and I understand that. So I can’t blame him for that. Maybe if there was a massive prize pot at the end of it then maybe he would change his mind. But there are still some fantastic golfers heading over and we’ll see how golf develops within the Olympics.

“Some sports are maybe just a better fit than others. The Olympics is definitely the pinnacle for those of us in track and field and maybe there are a few other sports where you wonder if that is the case and whether those athletes really want to be there. I’m desperate to go to the Olympics. In other sports I’m not sure that’s always the case.”