The British hurdler discusses her top tips for success.
Profile
Name:
Natasha Danvers-Smith
Born:
19 September 1977
From:
London
Event:
400m hurdles
Achievements:
- 2008 Beijing Olympics - bronze medallist
- 2007 European Cup - winner
- 2006 Commonwealth silver medallist
- 2006 European Cup - winner
Running in championships is not easy. You have to run back to back races and not only do you have to feel physically ready you've got to be ready mentally as well. Coming back to beat people, week in week out, is a very hard thing to do so I just say 'I know you're tired, but whatever happens, just put in your best effort.'
It's more mental than physical because you could be 100% in shape but if you don't feel like you can do it then you probably won't.
Train your mind as much as you train your body.
The main thing is to have a goal. You don't have to be the best in Britain and you don't have to be the best in the world. You just have to be the best that you can be.
Never sell yourself short. If you have a dream, go for that dream. If someone tells you they don't think you're good enough, it doesn't matter what they think. That's just one person's opinion. Take advice from here, take advice from there, put it all together and make a decision.
If you've got to go to school in the morning you don't just get up and get on any old bus. You get up and you say 'I have to go to school. That's my goal. I'm going to get on this bus because that's going to get me there.' That's why you need a goal, because it's the only way you're going to know how to get where you really want to go.
If I had given up at the first sign of trouble I wouldn't be able to say today that I'm an Olympic bronze medallist. I persevered, I didn't give up and even though I had injuries I said 'No Tash, keep going and just keep seeing how far you can go.'
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