Martyn Rooney: “If I put in that work and stay injury free, I can win a medal.” | 20.12.2011

British 400m runner Martyn Rooney.

British 400m runner Martyn Rooney may have crashed out in the semi-finals at the IAAF World Championship this summer but the British sprinter, who finished sixth at the 2008 Olympic Games as a 21-year-old, has warned the rest of the world's top runners over one lap of the track not to write him off ahead of next summer's Olympics.

In 2008, Rooney was Europe's top man in his specialist event, clocking a personal best of 44.60 in the Beijing semi-finals and going under 45 seconds on two other occasions.

He showed signs that he was getting back to that level last year with a bronze medal at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona and he went under 45 seconds again in 2010 but, due to injury problems, he did not fulfil his potential this summer.

Nevertheless, motivated by the fact that the 2012 Olympic Games will be in his home city of London, Rooney believes he can get back to his best next summer and topple Belgium's Kevin Borlée from his place as Europe's leading 400m runner.

In an interview with the British website www.sportsvibe.co.uk, Rooney talks about what it will take to get an Olympic medal and the possibilities of Britain's 4x400m team to also making the podium, at both the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki and at the Olympics.

Read the full article here: http://www.sportsvibe.co.uk/articles/athletics/martyn-rooney-primed-for-second-spell-in-olympic-limelight-14250/