大象传媒

When Colchetser's Sarah Claxton took to the starting blocks for the 100m hurdles final at the Beijing Olympics in August, it was the realisation of a lifetime's work.

After missing out on the finals in Athens four years earlier, 29-year-old Sarah became the first British woman to make the Olympic final in the sprint hurdle event for 24 years.

Ultimately she finished eighth in that race, which she admits was an overwhelming experience.

Sarah finished eighth in Beijing (Getty)

"I was really, really nervous, though I think I was more nervous in the semi's than I was in the actual final," she says.

"Standing on the startline, my legs went to jelly听 - and听 when the gun went my legs wouldn't move!

"So I didn't really get a good start like I'd had in the semi-finals, so I was just trying to catch them back up.

"But then I hit a hurdle and went back again, but I'm not really too fussed because I was in the Olympic final!"

Sitting proudly back home in Essex was Sarah's mum Althea - easily her biggest supporter.

"Myself and my boys have had to leave things to try and help Sarah," she explains.

"Things have been so difficult for Sarah - trying to get her from A to B. It's been a struggle to get her funding to get her kit which we couldn't always afford.

"It's been a struggle being a single mum, we've had to work very hard and it's not been easy.

"But I'd do it all over again if I had to, especially when you see what Sarah's done and has achieved."

Since Sarah's Beijing exploits, both she and her mother have received plenty of media attention and consequently attained some level of local celebrity status.

Sarah's had plenty of media interest since Beijing

Indeed, Sarah's former school, Monkwick Juniors, have since named a classroom after her.

It's something that Althea is still getting used to: "When Sarah made the final all of the congratulations started coming in," she says.

"I went to the door and I picked up all of these cards up and I realised most of them didn't really have an address, it just had 'Sarah and Mum' or 'Sarah and Althea', and in brackets 'hurdler, Colchester'.

Sarah adds: "Some of the messages were really touching, wishing me luck and saying they would watch.

"I even got a letter from a little child of about five or six-years-old, saying she had watched me on TV, that she'd tried athletics and had really enjoyed it."

Sarah's focus now switches to the winter training, the indoor season and ultimately the 2012 Games in London.

However she fares, she can rely on her mum to be cheering her on loudly.