On Top of the Worlds? - Sally Gunnell

Posted 1 September 2011 by Sally Gunnell

I’ve been glued to the World Athletics Championships in Korea; with less than a year to the Olympics, it’s been essential TV viewing in our house.  On the face of it, things might not look that rosy for us, with Jess Ennis having to settle for Silver in the Heptathlon and Mo Farah missing the 10,000m gold.

Mo and Jess’ experiences in Korea show just how hard it is at the top level these days.  The competition is intense and there are plenty of decent athletes out there waiting to shoot our guys down in flames.  But I reckon this might be a blessing in disguise; winning a World gold and then coming back the following year to win the Olympics is a massive ask.  Both Jess and Mo have shown previously that they are winners; by “losing” their events in Korea, they’ve given themselves the best possible incentive to work on those tiny details…the ones that separate Olympic gold medalists from the rest.  Time is on their side and now they’ll have that added impetus to get it all totally right.
 
The rest of the Aviva GB&NI Team have a chance to use the Worlds to put themselves on the line mentally and physically.  They all have different goals; for some, it’ll be making the finals in their event.  For others, it’ll be aiming for the podium.  For all of them it’ll be about putting themselves under real pressure and seeing if they can deliver.  They can all learn a lot about themselves and what they need to focus on to improve the chances of Olympic success next year.  The excitement of the Olympics comes from the fact that if you can make the final in your event, anything can happen!

You might hear people saying the Aviva GB&NI Team’s not doing that well in Korea.  But if I were out there with them I’d say “take away what you can and learn from it, because the big one comes in London in 11 months’ time”.  I messed up at the 1991 Worlds, so I know what I’m talking about! I was in the lead at the penultimate hurdle and blew it.  I learned so much that day and my Olympic gold in 1992 was a result of the hard work I put in to pick up all those little percentages here and there. 

I looked at everything, from what I ate through to how I trained.  Every minute of every day was planned out, from the day I got home through to the Olympics the following year.  I’ve no doubt that our guys will do just the same once they get back to good old Blighty.  Don’t underestimate the athletic value of great planning…

Sally Gunnell