LYNSEY Sharp is over it. She appears finally weary now of picking over the bones of what might have been, the endless philosophising and even with feeling angry. It's a little over a week since the Scot officially became a European champion after the 800m silver medal she won in Helsinki last summer was formally upgraded to a gold. The 22-year-old finished second to Russia's Yelena Arzhakova in the 2012 European Championships final. But then, in April, Arzhakova was given a two-year doping ban after an abnormality was found in her biological passport.
The Edinburgh-born athlete was competing in America when her mother telephoned her with the news. It was a bittersweet moment.
Now, having run the gamut of emotions from elation to frustration and back, Sharp insisted if she met Arzhakova there would be no confrontation. "I just feel sorry for her that she had to resort to that," she said. "I'm not angry anymore. It's just, whatever. She made that choice: I didn't make that choice."
The World Anti-Doping Agency recently detailed plans that would double the length of bans for athletes who fail drugs tests from two to four years.
The new global code, likely to be approved at the World Conference on Doping in Sport this November, would come into effect from 2015. But Sharp believes that four years is not long enough. It is her view that one strike should mean a life ban.
"I do, definitely, because I think it's the only way they are going to stop people from doing it. Four years isn't enough of a deterrent – that's only one Olympic cycle."
UK Athletics has mooted plans to make an official presentation to Sharp. Exactly when that might be remains unclear as she is yet to hold the gold medal in her hands. "I haven't heard anything," she said. "I'm not holding out much hope it will be any time soon, but hope I'll get it at some point."
Sharp has not had an opportunity to mark the occasion with her family yet, pointing out that she did her celebrating last year when she achieved what she thought was the momentous result of a European silver medal.
"It's kind of not the same when it's not at the time," she said. "I was in America when I found out then came back to Loughborough, so I've not been home. It's a new year. I have other stuff I need to concentrate on."
That includes the major goal of competing at the World Championships in Moscow this August, and to qualify Sharp will need to run a 2:00.00. "I've not raced since I was in America, having decided to get some training in instead," she said. "I've got a few races before trials and then trials itself which will be a good race. It's a strong event in the UK. No one has done the A standard yet, but I think it will come soon.
"I'd say things are going pretty well. Obviously racing and training are completely different, but I can compare where I was in previous years to where I am now. I'm in a good place."
After that, thoughts will begin to turn to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Sharp has already achieved the qualification standard, posting a 2:02.63 at Mount Sac, California, in April. She has noticed the growing buzz around next summer and cannot wait for the event. "I follow all the stuff on Twitter about the volunteers applying and tickets going on sale soon. It's really exciting," she said.
Sharp concedes the controversy over her Olympic selection last summer – where she achieved only the B standard, but was chosen ahead of four women with the A standard – has helped her develop a far thicker skin. "I definitely learned a lot," she explained. "Last year was the worse prep I could have had, certainly mentally, for a major championship. I don't think it can get any harder than that."
Her mantra is that "everything happens for a reason", adding that it's a philosophy that her parents Carol and Cameron, both part of the 1982 Commonwealth Games team, have helped instill.
"I try to think everything so far has worked out pretty well," she said. "If I do have a set-back, it's all part of the bigger picture so I try to chill out about it."
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