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Tomlinson aims for more records
LONG JUMPER Chris Tomlinson
is sick and tired of being
tagged Britain's big track underachiever
of the last decade and
plans to rewrite the record books
at the Valencia World Indoors
this weekend.
Helsinki and Osaka World
Championships have been and
gone for the Teessider in recent
seasons, without a final appearance
at either.
Six years ago Tomlinson announced
himself in style to the
UK public, breaking the 34-yearold
national outdoor British
record set by 1964 Olympic champion
Lynn Davies.
He managed only fifth place at
the 2004 Athens Olympics, but
with the Beijing Games only five
months away Tomlinson plans to
build on his new indoor personal
best of 8.18m, recorded last
month, and finally gatecrash the
world's elite in Spain this weekend.
"My major championship
record is not good on paper and I
know I should have won a medal
by now," said Tomlinson, who
joined his fiancee Lucia Rovardi
in London this winter after she
landed a major part in the West
End musical Buddy.
"Everyone has their demons
but you've got to be strong
enough to deal with them.
"I decided this is my year during
the winter," said the Middlesbrough-
born member of
Newham and Essex Beagles.
"If you come fifth at the
Olympics in 2004 then you should
be thinking about winning the
next one.
"I'm not going to start saying
I'm going to do this or I'm going
to do that, but I broke my British
record this year and I'm ranked
highly in the world now.
"Being the Olympic year people
are focused on Beijing but we
also realise there are a lot of stepping
stones to actually get there.
"Last year things were going
very well but then when I got to
Osaka and it was all over by the
morning.
"That's something I really
want to work on - I've thought a
lot about it and I want to correct
it."
Meanwhile, Morpeth Harrier
Nick McCormick is man on a mission
in Valencia - hell-bent on
picking up where he left off from
in 2006.
The 26-year-old shot to prominence
in 2006, qualifying for the
final of the 1500m at the Melbourne
Commonwealth Games
and the final of the 5,000m at the
European Championships in
Gothenburg.
But a hugely disappointing
2007 saw McCormick have his lottery
funding axed and also fail to
qualify for the Osaka World
Championships.
McCormick is desperate to
make up for lost time in Valencia,
where he plans to put down a
sizeable selection marker for this
summer's Beijing Olympic
Games.
"I went backwards last year
and it has been a real struggle for
me," said McCormick.
"When New Year's Eve was approaching,
I couldn't wait to welcome
in 2008 because 2007 was
not a good year.
"It hurt being dropped and not
having my Lottery Funding anymore.
"Perhaps it's what I needed to
get my career back on track."
* Norwich Union is the team behind UK Athletics
and are proud to support the Norwich
Union GB & NI Team. To play your part for athletics
in your area visit www.joinourteam.com
9:12am Friday 7th March 2008
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