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Ohuruogu considered scrapping 2011 campaign

Christine Ohuruogu has been off the pace for much of 2011 © Getty Images

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Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu has admitted she considered ending her season early after some disappointing results to concentrate solely on London 2012.

Ohuruogu, who will be looking to claim her second World Championships gold medal in the 400 metres in Daegu later this year, has endured a difficult season to date as she has struggled to recapture her former speed - with a last-placed finish at last month's London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace the low point.

Having struggled with her training due to injury earlier in the year, Ohuruogu admitted that the disappointing results led her to consider skipping the World Championships to focus on being in the best possible shape for the Olympics next year - but she ultimately decided that was not the right path to take.

"I've thought, 'I can't be arsed to do this any more, let's scrap the season and worry about next year'," Ohuruogu said, according to the Independent. "But I never run from a challenge. Whatever happens, I'm always ready to fight and work as hard as I can."

Renowned for her strong finishes to races, Ohuruogu hasn't had that same late burst of speed for much of this season. Having realised that her competitors have all improved their training regimes in order to try and catch her, she accepts she needs to amend her schedule slightly in order to get back on top.

"I just wasn't as race fit as the other girls - training wise I hadn't put as much in the tank," she said. "I'm strong and fit. It was because I hadn't done any training at race pace.

"It wasn't a light bulb moment. It just hit me hard that this is a big girl's game and you have to be ready for it. You can't miss training sessions. You have to be on it all the time. These girls are all after what I have - they want to beat me."

However, the 27-year-old is reluctant to set herself any targets for her performance in South Korea.

"I expect that I go out there and do my best," she said. "I want to leave the track knowing that I did everything I could with the time I had."

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