Shakes-Drayton in the market for gold after that polished Palace performance
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UPDATED:
20:37 GMT, 14 July 2012
Nobody among the
tens of thousands of
competitors at London
2012 will know the
Olympic Stadium better
than Britain's latest
track medal hope, Perri
Shakes-Drayton.
'There used to be a
Sunday market where
the stadium is and I used
to go with my stepdad,'
said Shakes-Drayton,
who grew up in Poplar.
What did she buy there
Stunning: Britain's Perri Shakes-Drayton (right) wins the 400m hurdles at Crystal Palace
'Pirate CDs,' she said, cackling with laughter. 'We did! It's changed a lot for the better.'
So it has. Her next Sunday visit to the site will be on August 5, when the first round of the 400m hurdles takes place. But, after Friday night's performance at the Aviva Grand Prix at Crystal Palace, she will no longer creep under the radar on the return to her old haunt.
Her winning time of 53.77sec on Friday was not only a huge personal best, it put her joint second on the world list this year – and that on a cool, wet and blustery London evening.
She screamed in delight on seeing her time but by yesterday she was back down to earth.
'I'm not getting carried away with what happened,' she said. 'I wouldn't see myself as a medal contender. That would be getting ahead of myself.
'The girls I beat have beaten me a few times before so I know I still need to concentrate on making the final.'
Shocked: Shakes-Drayton celebrates winning at Crystal Palace as she prepares for the Olympics
The 400m hurdles can be a
mercurial event and in the
past her hurdling technique
has let her down. Not on
Friday, though, when she
fulfilled some of the
potential she had shown in
winning the European
bronze medal in Barcelona
two years ago.
Unlike some of her peers,
she has no problem
embracing the Olympic
hype of the local girl made
good. Indeed, her image is
emblazoned across
advertising hoardings
around the country, hurdling
through a gaggle of
sportsmen promoting a
satellite TV station.
'The Olympics is in your
face everywhere you go,'
she said. 'But I enjoy that. I
grew up in Poplar, went to
secondary school in Stepney
and now live in Bow. It's
always loud down there,
rarely quiet. I like the
excitement and I don't
imagine myself living
anywhere else, but I'll be
staying in the village at the
Games to get into the right
frame of mind.'
She eagerly seized on an
opportunity to train at the
Olympic Stadium recently.
'I was fed up with imagining
it so I jumped at the chance
to train there. I thought,
“Wow, this is big”. We took a
little walk around and tried
to take it all in. Even for the
first-round heats, there will
be 80,000 there.'
So how will she deal with
80,000 cheering Brits. 'I've
been practising that,' she
said. 'You know Serena
Williams, the wave she does,
I do like that. None of the
kissing bit, nothing like that.
But I like the Serena thing.'
