Ohuruogu puts her mind to beating the best again

Winston Churchill once referred to Russia as a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Fast forward 83 years and the great man’s words are equally applicable Christine Ohuruogu, Britain’s sole Olympic champion competing inside the Olympic Stadium.

Trying to work out what makes her tick is far from straightforward. At times, she can seem absent minded — she usually acts like we’ve never met despite constant conversations over the years, or often she deflects questions with one-word answers.

But the reality is that the real Ohuruogu is a doting family woman — she has six brothers and a sister — and is one of the more intelligent members of the British team in London. If you find a subject — most likely in literature — that captures her interest, she is hooked.

But most questions aimed at her since becoming Olympic champion with a gritty performance at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing have been about her ailing body. Injuries have dogged her to the point that she was cast aside by most as a contender at these Games.

That all changed in Crystal Palace last month where, as the rain lashed down, she beat a world-class field with a powerful run on the home straight for a victory that was reminiscent of her Chinese display.

The body is holding together well and Ohuruogu looks in superb physical shape. But it is her mental state that holds the greatest concern.

“I do take myself very seriously at times,” she says. “I have a lot going on in my head. Sometimes I need to chill as, at times, I can be my own worst enemy.”

A keen reader and self-confessed deep thinker, her sport, she says, helps and at other times hinders her mentally. “Sometimes the athletics make it better and sometimes it makes it worse as you’re constantly worrying about what you’re doing,” she says. “I’m just aiming to do my best. That’s all I can ask. I want to know that when it comes to the 400m I did everything I could whatever the outcome.”

For the first time since 2008, she genuinely believes she can again beat the best in the world.

“I’ve always believed I’d get back into my best shape because running is what I do, it’s what I know,” says Ohuruogu. “I have to prepare to do my best and then leave it to God.”