NEXT month the stars of Team GB come to Gateshead Stadium for the European Athletics Team Championships in what will be their first competitive meeting on home soil since the London Olympic Games. Sports Writer Steph Clark caught up with 400m runner Christine Ohuruogu to talk about continuing the legacy of the Games and the season ahead
It only seems like yesterday that the whole world was watching THAT evening unfold in London.
Super Saturday, as it became known, went down as the greatest night in the history of British athletics as Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford sealed three gold medals for Team GB inside the space of two hours.
It is a night those inside the Olympic Stadium and the millions watching on television will remember for the rest of their lives, but for those who made up our greatest team, it marked the start of a new era for British athletics.
After a well-earned break, the Team GB are back in action and a whole host of their Olympic heroes, including Farah and Rutherford, will grace the track and field at the International Stadium when the region hosts the European Athletics Team Championships on June 22/23.
Also among those competing for Great Britain as they look to mount a serious challenge on main rivals Russia and Germany will be 2012 Olympic silver medalist and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Christine Ohuruogu, who narrowly missed out on defending her title last summer when she was pipped to the top prize by the USA's Sonia Richards-Ross.
The 28-year-old is already looking to continue an impressive start to the season in the North-East and she believes news that 20,000 tickets have already been sold with only 2,000 remaining for each day demonstrates there is still a thirst for action almost 12 months on from the London Games.
And with that, Ohuruogu admits the Great British contingent are keen to make more progress in front of a home crowd ahead of August's World Championships in Moscow.
"It's important for us to be successful on home soil and I think if we're talking about legacies it's important that we go out there with a strong team and put on a good show and keep the momentum of the Games going.
"The first year after the Games is crucial and we have to make sure we keep cementing this legacy.
"It's so amazing to see how much people do back us and how much they love track and field. If you give them a chance to come out and experience it, they will always grab it with both hands.
"It goes to show that we do love sport. The legacy is not some pie in the sky idea, people actually do believe it. Parents want their kids to do sport, teachers want their pupils to do sport and even adults want to get involved."
Ohuruogu, who spent the winter training over in Florida, has already started the outdoor season well with a third place finish in a Diamond League meeting in Doha, while she posted her fastest ever season opening time of 50:58secs in Kingston, Jamaica.
It makes a welcome change for the Newham-born athlete, who usually starts the season sluggishly before hitting her peak at major competitions, and the 400m specialist believes that has stemmed from an uninterrupted winter of training.
She said: "It was important that we decided straight after the indoor season to go away and train.
"It didn't make sense to be here in the snow and I think that's really helped drive my season having not missed any training. Once you get to a certain level you realise that the rest of the world are training all year round and you have to do the same. You can't take weeks off because of the snow.
"We've been able to up the volume of work and consistency, which has really helped.
"I think it's always important that the year before has gone well so you're not having to go back to go forward and I feel that's the case this year. It's a nice platform to work off."
The London Games might have been a defining moment in British athletics history, but Ohuruogu admits a huge weight has now been lifted from the team's shoulders.
"I think for a lot of athletes, 2012 was the hardest thing to go through and it always hovered over you like this cloud. You never knew how you were going to come out at the end of it," she said.
"Now it's gone you can breath and take a step back. No matter how you did at the Olympics it's nice to come out at the other end and say there is life at 2012. It is a relief, it's one of the hardest things you'll ever go through."
Now, it's all about building on the team's success in 2012 and Ohuruogu believes there is no better place to make a competitive return to action than in the North-East.
"I like coming to Gateshead," she revealed. "The crowd here is one of the most passionate I've ever seen. The last time I raced here was 2008 and I was told not to mention the rain, but it poured down the whole day.
"My race was the last event and everyone waited until I'd finished. They stood there in the pouring rain waiting for photos and I thought if it was me I would have gone home by now, but they waited and when people are like that, you don't mind talking to them and having photos taken."
To buy tickets for the European Athletics Team Championships at Gateshead International Stadium, visit www.gateshead2013.com or phone 08448440444.
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