GERMANY: ATHLETICS - Veronica Campbell-Brown and Sally McLellan confident for the upcoming World Championships

Record ID: 186898

  • Title: GERMANY: ATHLETICS - Veronica Campbell-Brown and Sally McLellan confident for the upcoming World Championships
  • Date: 15th August 2009
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 14, 2009) (REUTERS) ARRIVAL OF JAMAICAN SPRINTER VERONICA CAMPBELL-BROWN AT NEWS CONFERENCE CAMERA OPERATOR JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAMAICAN SPRINTER VERONICA CAMPBELL-BROWN SAYING: "I don't really think about what any of my competitors are doing in training, a couple of times I stumble on the results. I respect all my competitors and so I don't really sit down and worry about any one person because at the end of the day there will be eight people line up in each event, so I just make sure that I focus on me and just make sure that I am doing what I need to do to run fast whenever I am on the track." PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAMAICAN SPRINTER VERONICA CAMPBELL-BROWN SAYING: "I think we are both determined. Allyson and I have been sharing the wins for many years now, and we represent the same brand, so it is kind of fun to compete with Allyson, because I know that I bring my A game and she always bring her A game as well, so whenever I compete with her I always have to make sure I am ready to run. But at the same time I know what I have to do, everybody knows that I am the curve runner, that is why I run the 200 metres, I am going to kill the curve and then the race will be history and that is the way I normally run it and I am just looking forward to competing." SPECTATORS BERLIN 2009 LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN HURDLER SALLY MCLELLAN SAYING: "No it's not really relevant, I am not afraid of my athletes, I respect them, as Delloreen (Ennis-London) said, you respect your opponents, and you have to focus solely on yourself and your lane only, you don't really have time to think about anyone else because it is over in a flash. And as you said, in a few seconds it could be all gone, you could hit a hurdle and come from first to seventh, so you have really got to focus on yourself and not anyone else." MCLELLAN'S FEET IN FLIP-FLOPS (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN HURDLER SALLY MCLELLAN SAYING: "For an Australian just to make a final is really exciting, we're aiming for a couple of top eights so we are really excited about that, so obviously you know if you win a gold medal in track and field for Australia it's just an amazing thing really, so it would be great." MCLELLAN AND JAMAICAN HURDLER DELLOREEN ENNIS-LONDON IN NEWS CONFERENCE ADIDAS RUNNING CLOTHES IN FRONT OF THE BERLIN CATHEDRAL
  • Embargoed: 30th August 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAECS0LHA2UKNBC0IX528BGW7EM
  • Story Text: Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown is confident that she can beat her American rival in the women's 200 metres at the World Championships. And Olympic silver medallist Sally McLellan is confident she can beat the Jamaican and American competition to take gold for Australia in the 100 metres hurdles.
    Two-time Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown is confident that she can keep up the Jamaican gold streak at the Athletics World Championships in Berlin.
    Despite having battled form and fitness issues for most of 2009 and missing six weeks of important training, the reigning Olympic 200 metres champion and 100 metres World Champion says she is on form and not worried about the competition.
    "I don't really think about what any of my competitors are doing in training, a couple of times I stumble on the results. I respect all my competitors and so I don't really sit down and worry about any one person because at the end of the day there will be eight people line up in each event, so I just make sure that I focus on me and just make sure that I am doing what I need to do to run fast whenever I am on the track," she told journalists in Berlin on Friday (August 14).
    Campbell-Brown, who will be competing in both the 100 and 200 metres, says it is a matter of mind over body, and neither her injuries nor her arch-rival Allyson Felix will stop her, and she was looking forward to the race.
    "I think we are both determined," she said. "Allyson and I have been sharing the wins for many years now, and we represent the same brand, so it is kind of fun to compete with Allyson, because I know that I bring my A game and she always bring her A game as well, so whenever I compete with her I always have to make sure I am ready to run. But at the same time I know what I have to do, everybody knows that I am the curve runner, that is why I run the 200 metres, I am going to kill the curve and then the race will be history and that is the way I normally run it and I am just looking forward to competing."
    Also looking forward to her race is the Australian hurdler Sally McLellan. A surprise silver medallist at the Beijing Olympics, McLellan has performed well during recent races.
    But with several women from Jamaica and the United States with medal chances in the 100 metres hurdles, McLellan will face a strong field. The absence of Lolo Jones, who was unable to make the US team, could play to McLellan's favour, but she said she just focuses on what she came to do rather than on the competition.
    "It's not really relevant, I am not afraid of my athletes, I respect them," she said on Friday. "You respect your opponents, and you have to focus solely on yourself and your lane only, you don't really have time to think about anyone else because it is over in a flash. And as you said, in a few seconds it could be all gone, you could hit a hurdle and come from first to seventh, so you have really got to focus on yourself and not anyone else."
    McLellan says she is ready to race, and after her success in Beijing, she is ready to get back on the podium for Australia, but even with drive to top the silver she won in Beijing, if it's not a gold, she still wouldn't be disappointed she said.
    "For an Australian just to make a final is really exciting, we're aiming for a couple of top eights so we are really excited about that, so obviously you know if you win a gold medal in track and field for Australia it's just an amazing thing really, so it would be great."
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