Christine Ohuruogu

Nickname

The Big O (sports-reference.com, 2011)

Hobbies

Watching DVDs, reading. (guardian.co.uk, 23 Aug 2008)

Occupation

Athlete

Education

Language Studies - University College of London, London, GBR

Language(s) spoken

English

Club name

Newham & Essex Beagles, London, GBR

Coach

Lloyd Cowan (GBR) (chrissyo.com, 04 Oct 2011)

Sporting relatives

A former junior netball international, she played for England at U17 and an U19 level. (UK athletics, 10 Aug 2005)

Other sports

Her sister Victoria is also a runner and has represented Britain in the Youth Olympic Games. (dailymail.co.uk, 09 Aug 2010)

Debut

2003 for Great Britain (thepowerof10.info, 30 May 2010)

Injuries

Her 2010 season was cut short by a torn thigh muscle. (bbc.co.uk, 26 Jul 2011)

She underwent surgery on both her Achilles tendons in her ankles at the start of 2007. (The Independent, 03 Aug 2007)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
She took up athletics seriously at age 17 at the Newham and Essex Beagles club in London. She did not fully commit to athletics until 2003 when she finally stopped playing netball. (telegraph.co.uk, 31 Aug 2007)

Reason for taking up this sport
She did not consider athletics an option until she ran in an 800m race at a school sports day. After running the race a teacher suggested she join an athletics club. She began to specialise in the 400m due to the fact that no other member in the athletics club wanted to compete over such a distance and with impressive times she was regularly selected to run. "I like the fact that it is an individual sport and you are in control of how well you do. It also helps that I am good at it as it is nice to win races." (chrissyo.com, 04 Oct 2011; avivaathletics.co.uk, 2009)

Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. (bbc.co.uk, 19 Aug 2008)

Hero
Australian athlete Cathy Freeman. (biogs.com, 31 Dec 2009)

Most influential person in career
Her support team and her brother Obi. (guardian.co.uk, 23 Aug 2008; avivaathletics.co.uk, 2009)

Superstitions / Rituals
"I have a habit of slapping my thighs and hamstrings – not sure if this does any good but I just do it." (avivaathletics.co.uk, 2009)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"If you fight you might lose, if you don't fight you have already lost." (Athlete, 31 Jul 2008)

Awards
She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the New Year Honours in 2009. (chrissyo.com, 04 Oct 2011)

She was named Great Britain's Athlete of the Year in 2007 and 2008. (BBC Sport, 27 Oct 2007; avivaathletics.co.uk, 2009)

General
HOMETOWN GIRL
She was born near the site of the Olympic stadium. "I think my family home is closer to the Olympic Stadium than anyone else's. I'm less than a mile away." (guardian.co.uk, 25 Jul 2011)

DOPING CONTROVERSY
In 2006 she received a one-year ban from UK Sport after missing three out-of-competition drug tests. Her appeal was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] but she managed to overturn the lifetime ban from all Olympic Games imposed by the British Olympic Association [BOA] which allowed her to compete at the 2008 Games in Beijing, where she won gold in the 400m. (bbc.co.uk, 15 Sep 2006)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008, Athens 2004