OLYMPICS: Trials are next step for Elaine (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

OLYMPICS: Trials are next step for Elaine

2:00pm Friday 22nd June 2012 in Sport By Dan Barnes

‘ANGRY’ Elaine O’Neill insists her injury woes this season haven’t dampened her love of athletics and the Chippenham sprinter is determined to give it her all at this weekend’s Olympic Trials.

The 22-year-old’s latest setback was the Achilles problem that saw her pull out of the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) championships in May and she admits that she has endured a testing year so far.

But O’Neill remains philosophical about her chances of impressing in the 100m in Birmingham, with the heats beginning on Friday evening, and is hoping to make up for lost time once the trials are out of the way.

“Training was going really well up until that Achilles problem and the few weeks after that were really hard,” said O’Neill.

“It’s been such a difficult season I guess I’ve felt a bit angry – when you watch other people running fast times you feel a bit sidelined.

“But I’m nowhere near saying I don’t want to carry things on.

“I just want to get back to being competitive at the trials and try and execute a good race – sprinting can be all about ups and downs and you’ve still got to give it your best because if you don’t, what have you got?

“Once the trials are done, I want to try and go to a meet in Belgium in July and then on the 7th, there’s the Loughborough European Athletics Permit (LEAP) meet, where a lot of top athletes may be because it’s the last day of Olympic qualification.

“Then there’s the Birmingham Games the day after and a Welsh International on July 18 – I want to compete as much as I can, as long as the body is fine.”

Trowbridge sprinter Danny Talbot will go for a 200m place at the Olympics in this week’s trials, while Chippenham’s Dave Bishop contests the 1500m.