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Christine Ohuruogu is no stranger to winning when all seems lost but she’ll have to do it again if she’s to retain her world 400m title in Berlin this month. As she told Sport, despite injury, she’s not just going to make up the numbers

When the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships get under way in Berlin on Saturday August 15, they may well do so without the defending women’s 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu. Her own coach has given her only a 50 per cent chance of making it after a hamstring injury ruled her out of recent meets in Paris and at Crystal Palace; and, even if she does get there, she’ll arrive in Berlin with a season’s best of 51.14s – almost two seconds down on the world-leading mark set by American Sanya Richards in Oslo last month.

But Ohuruogu is not the type to take much notice of others, be it coach or competitors. Indeed, had she been a different type of person – a more fragile type, both mentally and physically – Ohuruogu would be nothing more than a memory right now. Having received a one-year ban in 2006 for missing three drugs tests, her career at the top level looked doomed after the British Olympic Association reacted by slapping a lifetime ban on top of that. Excluded from competing at any future Olympics, Ohuruogu described herself as “completely heartbroken”.

She battled back though, appealing against the BOA’s ruling before the decision was finally overturned in November 2007. By then, of course, she was also world champion having shocked pretty much everyone by powering through to take 400m gold in Osaka a matter of weeks after her ban had come to an end.

She wasn’t supposed to do that, nor was she supposed to add the Olympic title in Beijing last year. She did though, in equally sensational style, and now it’s to Berlin – where she’s not supposed to be – to defend her 400m title, a task for which she’s not supposed to be fit. Just try telling her that...

Having missed two pre-Berlin meets through injury, will you approach the World Championships with the same confidence you would have otherwise?

“My coach and I made the decision not to compete in Paris and London as a precaution, but doing so allowed me to keep focused on my training and ensure I’m in the best possible shape for Berlin. And I’m still confident; I’ve been working hard for months so I’m not going to let a few scheduling adjustments deter me from defending my title.”

What are your lasting memories from the 2007 championships?

“I just remember going to bed that night and it was about 3am and all I could think was: ‘Oh my God, what have I just done?’ I wasn’t out partying or anything but after the race you have to get drugs-tested and fulfil all the media obligations, so it’s quite late by the time you get back to your room. But I just couldn’t settle down because I was all excited – I remember it really clearly.”

What was it like talking to the media, considering the slating they had given you in the wake of your ban?

“I think they were confused by the whole thing. No one understood what I did and how I could have done it after not being able to compete for a year. Some of the media attention wasn’t very pleasant but I dealt with it as best as I could at the time.”

How did you feel before the final in Osaka, as you’d only run a handful of competitive races in preparation?

“I remember that I didn’t let the occasion get to me. I knew I’d been so fortunate to get to the final in the first place so that was good enough for me. But at the same time, I always believe that when I step on the line I’m just as good as anyone else – I truly believe that.”

So you felt like you had nothing to lose?

“Exactly. Before Osaka, the only championship final I had made was at the Commonwealth Games, and in the 2005 worlds I went out in the heats. So I was just happy to have got there, but then, once you get to the final you believe you can do anything. And that was what I had – I’d come so far and had nothing to lose now, so it was a case of just go for it.”

This year you have a title to lose and everyone in the event will be focusing on you as the one to beat. Are you feeling under pressure?

“There’s always going to be a bit of pressure but I truly believe that the experiences I’ve had will allow me to deal with it. I’ve been in worse situations, believe me. The World Championships in 2007 were probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. After everything that had happened, I had to have the confidence to go out and run when I didn’t feel that I could do it. I don’t think anything will ever be as hard as that. I just thank God that I’ve had that experience and I know that, whatever comes, what I have to deal with will never be as hard as that. Just knowing that gives me a lot of confidence.”

Is it the kind of confidence that makes you believe you can beat anyone?

“I don’t necessarily know that I can beat them all. People change, things change, but I’m confident in my ability; I know that when I’m fit, healthy and in a good place mentally, then I can run well. It’s just about keeping myself positive, and then who knows what will happen? I don’t like to talk gold medals around my neck; I just like to believe in what I can do.”

In the weeks leading up to a major championships, do you try to distance yourself mentally from the sport and try to stay relaxed?

“I have a rule that I never stop myself from thinking about track and field, so if the thought comes into my head I don’t chase it away – I just deal with it. You have to confront what’s coming up; you can’t hide anywhere or wish you were somewhere else. So no, I don’t distance myself, but I do take time out. You know in yourself when you’re getting a bit stressed or panicky, and that’s when you have to step back and deal with it.”

So how do you deal with it?

“Me and my friend have this ritual – wherever we are competing, we check out the shops and end up buying loads of rubbish that we never use, but it’s fun all the same. Just because you’re at a championships it doesn’t mean you have to sit in your room, lock the doors and close the windows. You can go out and enjoy time with your friends, go to bed late, watch DVDs… you can do all that stuff and still run well.”

So you know all the best places to go out in Europe?

[Laughs] “That should be the case shouldn’t it? Berlin should be great though – I’ve been once before and I love Germany. I’ve been to Hamburg quite a few times because I have a cousin out there. I haven’t really been out in Berlin, but hopefully we’ll get time to go and check out the sites.”

You were England’s team captain at the European Team Championships last month. Did you enjoy that responsibility?

“I felt good knowing that they gave me the responsibility of doing the job. Honestly, it’s really nice to know that people want to put you in that position and believe you can do it. You feel good that people believe you have the skills to do that kind of job.”

Didn’t you have to stand up and give a speech to the team too?

“I did, but it wasn’t too bad – I just encouraged the team to use every opportunity they’ve got. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or the next week, so you have to make it count. I told them to use this opportunity and not just see it as a lesser competition than the World Championships but use it as a stepping stone to the summer. If you enjoy the European Team Championships, then look to come back again for the World Championships team.”

Do you prefer to be a team member or team leader?

“I always prefer to be a team member but I’d be selling myself short if I wasn’t team captain. I have picked up a lot of knowledge during my career and things I can pass on to other people. I wouldn’t be helping the sport if I just stayed as a team member. I can be a strong leader, although I tend to stay in the shadows but I think I should be up there because I need to share what I’ve learned with others.”

SARAH SHEPHARD

Christine Ohuruogu’s growing influence is being used to inspire athletes of the future via the Aviva UKA Academy, a project aimed at making it easier for every child in the UK to get involved in athletics at any level. “The Academy was launched because they wanted to be more proactive in terms of tackling the issue of children not playing enough sport,” says Ohuruogu. “The initiative offers opportunities for more children to be involved with sport, particularly athletics, in the run up to 2012. The plan is that I help to inspire them and we get as many kids as we can participating in sport by 2012.”