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Ohuruogu brushes off fitness concerns

Christine Ohuruogu is confident she can regain her best form © Getty Images

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Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu has moved to allay fears over her long-term fitness, insisting she will be ready to compete at this month's World Championship Trials.

The 26-year-old has been hampered by injuries all summer and has not raced since finishing fourth over 200m in May.

With the countdown to London 2012 gaining momentum, there are concerns the 2007 world champion will be forced to miss the World Championships in Daegu at the end of August and not be able to defend her Olympic title on home soil next year.

However, the Londoner believes a more disciplined approach with her rehabilitation will ensure she is able to take part in the UK Trials and Championships at the end of the month.

She told BBC Sport: "Don't worry - I'll be there. I'm happy with where I am in training and that it's all coming together at the right time. My coach and my physio pretty much sat on me to prevent me doing too ahead of myself, and that slowly-slowly approach in terms of making sure I'm physically fit and mentally fit has been a good call.

"It's been a crazy couple of months. In a cheesy way, it's been quite enlightening - it's always very difficult watching the races when you're not in them, but it's really paid off to be patient, and not to just dive in as I would like to have done. At this time of year you have to be really smart with how you train and race, to know that when you get to Daegu you have every part covered. There's always time - it's just a matter of how you use it.

"You might not necessarily have the best preparation or the one you had in years before, but you have to make the most of what you've got. That ultimately will make you a better athlete."

Ohuruogu's 400m personal best came during her World Championships triumph four years ago but the Brit is adamant she can still mix it with the best.

"The time will be whatever it takes," she said. "Whoever is the strongest will win. People like to put the finger on the time, but the beauty of the event is that when you have people pushing each other, anything could happen. It might take only 51 seconds to win the Worlds - who knows?"

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