Goldie Sayers Talks To The Ely Standard About Her Olympic Experience

IN the wake of her fourth place in the Olympic Women's Javelin competition, Ely Standard sports reporter Steve Green spoke to Goldie Sayers about her experiences of the Games.

SG: What was the journey (to Beijing) like? I believe there was a typhoon in Macau.

GS: "The flight to Hong Kong was OK, but because of the weather conditions we couldn't get the ferry to Macau. Actually it was quite nice (staying in Hong Kong) because it broke up the journey."

What was your first thought when you arrived in Beijing?

"You don't really know what to expect. I guess I thought it's time to perform, and that it may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"The media reported that I had an upset stomach, but it was a little bit more than that. So each day as I got better I felt it was another step towards my Olympic goal."

How many javelins do you carry, and what makes you decide which one to use?

"I usually take three, although, of course, you can't use your own during competition.

"Some are better in a headwind, and some a tailwind. They are incredibly well-balanced."

Was the accommodation better or worse than you expected?

"It was better, because the British Olympic Association had worked with the sponsors - such as B&Q - to ensure that we had comfortable sofas, DVD players, things like that. Otherwise it would have been quite bare. Those things made a difference, and it was quite nice and relaxed."

What happened as far as food was concerned?

"I took supplements with me - minerals, vitamins, pro-biotics, etc. We had a great place in Macau and the food was good - apart from the bit of tuna I ate! Apart from the stomach virus it was fine, although there was a bad virus outbreak in the Australian camp."

What was your plan of action for the Qualifying Round?

"Just to try to get it over and done with in one throw, and to throw over 60-metres which I managed with my second attempt. With 27 competitors there was a long time between throws, so there was everything to lose."

What training did you do between the Qualifying Round and the Final?

There's not an awful lot you can do. Just recover really. Stretching a little, and priming myself for the final.

And what was your plan of action for the final itself?

"A good first round throw, which fortunately I had. We were told it was going to rain at 7.30pm, so conditions got worse. But the weather improved again and I was wanting to back up my first round throw. In the final round I wasn't called early enough though, so I didn't have the time to mentally prepare."

The Russian(Abakumova, the silver medallist)'s performance surprised you...

"It surprised everyone really."

And what about the world record holder Osleidys Menendez?

"She had an Achilles (tendon) injury in her left foot last year, so she didn't do too well. I would never write her off though."

On reflection, are you pleased to have finished fourth? If everyone had thrown to their best known form, you would perhaps have been sixth or seventh.

"Athletes don't throw their best all the time, and in terms of consistency I would have been about third. I did want a medal, but it didn't happen. So I'm 'satisfied' rather than 'pleased', and look forward to progressing further in the top four towards 2012."

What next?

I'm in the Czech Republic on Friday (tomorrow) for a 'shop window' event, because we want the javelin to be a Golden League event next season. But I'm hopeful that we may have achieved that already following what happened in the Olympic final.

"Then there is the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart on September 13, when I just want to confirm my world ranking."

Goldie was in action again at the Aviva British Grand Prix at Gateshead on Sunday, winning the Women's Javelin event with a best throw of 61.62 metres.

Spain's Mercedes Chilla was second with 59.77, and Poland's Barbara Madejczyk was third with 58.27.

Pic cap: Goldie Sayes competing in Beijing.

Photo: MARK SHEARMAN