229 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
229 lines
6.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sport
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othersports
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olympics
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london2012
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4223799
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# Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu must tackle a tricky $1m question
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## Decisions, decisions. For an athlete who has everything - a world title,
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an Olympic gold medal and now appointed an MBE - Christine Ohuruogu finds
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herself facing a conundrum as she plots her return to the track this year.
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![Ohuruogu must face up to $1m question][1]
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Just champion: Britain's Christine Ohuruogu celebrates after winning the 400
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metres gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing last year Photo: AFP
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By Simon Hart 8:04PM GMT 12 Jan 2009
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[Comments][2]
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Should she do what she did in preparation for Beijing and dedicate her entire
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season to the task of winning a single race, namely the 400 metres final at
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the World Championships in Berlin on Aug 18?
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Or should she, with the London Olympics still three years away, think about
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her financial security and go all out for the Golden League series? It offers
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a jackpot of up to $1 million if she can win all six races on the circuit, not
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to mention some sizeable appearance fees befitting an Olympic champion.
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"That's an option but it depends on what your goals are," she says. "You can
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do that and run the risk of running yourself down so that when it does get to
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the championship, you're burnt out. It needs to be planned out very
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carefully."
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That planning will take place in the next couple of months when she and her
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coach, Lloyd Cowan, fill in the blanks on her race calendar.
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## Related Articles
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* [Twell's pedigree excites Foster][3]
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11 Jan 2009
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Her indoor diary is already inked in - a solitary appearance at next month's
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Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham - but plotting the summer campaign is trickier.
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Does she concentrate on enhancing her reputation as the ultimate championship
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performer or does she take the money and run, hoping she still has the
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strength to hang on to her world title?
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Speaking by phone from her warm-weather training camp in Potchefstroom, South
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Africa, Ohuruogu admitted a "sensible decision" would to be to commit to at
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least the first couple of Golden League meetings in Berlin on June 14 and Oslo
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on July 3.
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If she comes away with two victories she admits she may start thinking about
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the jackpot, though the World Championships remain "the most important thing".
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That is likely to mean a resumption of her great rivalry with American Sanya
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Richards, who won a share of the Golden League jackpot herself in 2006, though
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Ohuruogu is also hoping that British team-mate Nicola Sanders can return to
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the form that brought a silver medal at the 2007 World Championships.
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"It would be good for the sport in Britain if we both did well," she says. "It
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inspires a lot of young girls out there if they think you don't have to be
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American or Russian or whatever to run well."
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Having taken a month off to recharge her body and take in a few awards
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ceremonies and corporate dinners, Ohuruogu says she is thoroughly enjoying
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getting back to the grind of winter training, particularly under a hot African
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sun.
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Although it is far too early in the season to assess her shape, she feels
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certain she has more to give, and does not rule out a personal best this
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season, even if winning races is far more important to her than running times.
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"Until the day I retire I'm always going to be looking for getting that bit
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better, that bit stronger," she says.
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After returning to Britain at the end of the month, she is looking forward to
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doing some work for London 2012, and there is also an eagerly anticipated trip
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to Buckingham Palace to receive her MBE award.
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"My mum always said she had a suit ready for such a day, even before I got
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involved in athletics, so it's quite funny," Ohuruogu said. "She always said
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it as a joke, so it's really nice for the family. It's for everyone to enjoy,
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not just me."
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[Tweet][8]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/london2012/4223799
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/Olympic-champion-Christine-Ohuruogu-must-tackle-1m-question.html
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Telegraph
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## [London 2012][9]
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* ### [Sport »][10]
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* ### [Athletics »][11]
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* ### [Olympics »][12]
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IN SPORT
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[![Sir Steve Redgrave][13]][14]
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### [Olympics email: sign up][14]
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[![Olympic Stadium - London 2012 Olympics competition schedule][15]][16]
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### [London 2012 interactive schedule][16]
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[![Sir Chris Hoy - London 2012 Olympics tickets guide][17]][18]
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### [London 2012 tickets Q&A][18]
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External Links
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* ### [IAAF][19]
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[X][4] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][5]
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Share:
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* [ ][4]
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* [ ][6]
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* [ ][7]
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* [Tweet][8]
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* OLYMPIC IMAGES
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Latest images from the Olympics and the London 2012 Games.
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Advertisement
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![][20]
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][21] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][22]
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[![London 2012 Olympics][23]][12]
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Advertisement
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sponsored features
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Olympic features
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[![London 2012 Olympics: 20 questions with Nicole Cooke][24]][25]
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### [20 Questions][25]
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Team GB road cyclist **Nicole Cooke **talks to Telegraph Sport
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### [Olympics countdown][26]
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[![][27]][26]
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**426 days to go**
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> Theodosius II ordered the destruction of all Greek temples in AD 426. <p>
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### [Send us your view on the Olympics][28]
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[LONDON 2012 Sport Guides »][29]
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### [Olympics sport-by-sport guide][12]
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