Danvers Must Hurdle Injury Before Competing At London

While the recent World Athletics Championships in Daegu offered its audience the chance to feast on the planet’s finest competitors, for Tasha Danvers the viewing was not so easy.

“Yeah it’s a bit of a headache. In athletics the whole idea is to be an athlete, so if you’re not competing it kind of defeats the object,” says Danvers when asked about missing the chance to re-establish herself among the 400-metre hurdles field after two years of injury hell.

Don’t let her words of frustration mislead you though. Danvers is a competitor and, although she was itching to feature in Daegu, she understands that recovery is a long process, even more so if she is to make her mark on London next year.

The London Olympics mean so much to so many people. For the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, it will be the culmination of a difficult period in her professional and personal life.

As she aims to stay positive in the midst of her injuries, Danvers admits that there were times when doubt crept in to her mind.

“There were definitely times when I was questioning whether I should be doing this, or if I should I be doing something else. I asked myself ‘Am I chasing a fantasy?’

“I believe in my heart that I still have the ability to live up to my potential, which I don’t believe I have reached yet, and I’m going to give that a good shot over the next twelve months.”

And give it a shot she will. Training under the stewardship of Malcom Arnold, the man who helped mastermind Dai Greene’s incredible gold medal in Daegu, Danvers is in good hands.

Arnold is the latest in a list of excellent coaches who have helped shaped Danvers into an Olympic contender. While she speaks with admiration for Arnold and Greene, both for their work ethic and infectious charisma, the Lambeth-born girl knows what is needed in 2012.

“It definitely helps to know what it takes. I know what it takes to get a bronze medal; I know what it takes to get on that podium. I know now that it’s going to take a bit more than that to take it to the next level.”

However, as she concedes, it will be difficult to get back to her previous best, something she knew long before the outcome in Korea.

“It doesn't take a World Championships to know where I need to be,” says a resolute Danvers.

“It's not going to be easy. I’ll have to break my personal best by a second to get to the top. As far as I’m concerned, that is not impossible. I'm in the place I need to be.”

Danvers’ absence from the field has seen Perri Shakes-Drayton propelled to the mantle of 400-metre hurdles hope, but despite the European bronze medalist failing to make the world finals by 0.01sec, she welcomes the competition.

“Any competition is healthy competition,” says Danvers. “But Perri and I shouldn’t be focusing on each other, we need to be focused on the rest of the world.

“It’s all well and good being the best in Britain, it doesn’t mean anything if the Russians, Americans and Jamaicans are seconds ahead of you. We’ve got to get ourselves and that includes Elidh Child, to the point where we’re up in the world rankings, not just in the UK.”

Following British World Championship successes, UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee has set the medal target for next year’s Olympic Games at eight, one more than the target for Daegu. As an athlete hoping to replicate her success on home soil, Danvers believes that van Commenee’s expectations have been encouraging.

“I think you need to set your sights high, so that the athletes can understand and believe in themselves that it is possible,” Danvers continues.

“I don't think Charles' ideas are too far-fetched based on the athletes we have. We saw great performances from Mo [Farah] and Dai [Greene], while Jess [Ennis] and Philips [Idowu] got silvers.

“This will push people to see that the possibility is there. In previous years a lot of athletes were content with just making the team and that is not good enough.”

As Danvers suggests, now is the time for final improvements as she ascertains how her event will pan out next year. “You can always get a good idea of the Olympics by looking at the World Championships before.

“You can always get an idea of who's running what, what's going to happen and how fast you have to run.

“People who did not qualify for the finals [in Daegu] will get an idea of how tough it’s going to be [in London]. It’s an alarm bell for people to realise that it’s not going to be a stroll.”

And after two years watching from the sidelines, Danvers knows this more than most.

Mizuno ambassador Tasha Danvers was speaking at the launch of the Mizuno Reading Half Marathon, taking place on 1st April 2012. With an expected 19,000 runners taking part you too can join the event by visiting www.readinghalfmarathon.com.

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