Britain's Meadows uses Daegu disappointment as London motivation

Jenny Meadows (GBR) is focused on the London Olympic Games after the disapppointment of not making the 800m final in Daegu.

Great Britain's Jenny Meadows failed to make the 800m final at the 2011 World Championships this summer but the disappointment has given her a renewed sense of purpose ahead of the Olympic Games in London next summer.

Meadows, now 30, was expected to be among the medal contenders in Daegu after bronze medals at the 2009 World Championships and 2010 European Athletics Championships over two laps of the track, as well as a silver medal at the 2010 World Indoor Championships behind Russia's 2011 world champion and European Athlete of the Year Mariya Savinova.

“Maybe if I’d returned from South Korea with a medal I’d have thought things were going well, but the whole disappointment has made me reassess my plans,” reflected Meadows , speaking to the British newspaper Metro.

“In a sense this could benefit me for London. The setback has given me a renewed passion to go out and win on our home track. It’s strange to think in 12 months, the Games will already be over.

“Since I returned from the world championships I have been analysing my performance. I didn’t qualify for the 800metres final in Daegu and it was hard watching it on TV.

“The final went the way I’d have wanted, which made it even harder to take. But the way it is now there are three semi-finals and only two definitely go through from each so it’s really tough to make the final.

“You go through most of the season running one-off races in the Diamond League so maybe we need to train for these circumstances, going through the rounds rather than building for one big effort.

“The Americans and Russians are better prepared after going through the rounds at their national trials. The only other event for us that comes close in that respect is the annual European Team Championships.

“Despite not making the final I’m still ranked fifth in the world and was consistent in the Diamond League, although I’d have given all that up for a medal at the worlds.

"I did manage to get some time away to relax, going to Rome with my husband [and coach] Trevor, and  spending some time in the Lake District. And I’ve also been tackling every job at home I could think of before I throw myself into preparing for next year.

"This is my last chance to win Olympic gold, although if I did achieve my goal I’d want to go to Rio 2016 as defending champion; regardless of my current plan to retire after the Commonwealth Games in three years’ time,” commented Meadows.