What about the relays?

DC: The relays were a bit disappointing four years ago I was part of the team that won Olympic gold and to not even defend it was upsetting for me if we had got round and beaten by better teams you could deal with that.

We have come such a long way we don't make those kinds of mistakes that much anymore and to do it there it upset me really. i think the girls were just unlucky they had gone into it and nobody expected them to do anything and all of a sudden they had a chance to win a medal and maybe the pressure got to them.

They over performed in a way making that final and being in with a chance for a medal but for us not making the final I didn't like that/

What do you think now needs to be done for athletics to achieve what the cyclists and the rowers achieved at the games?

LC: I think what they need to do is use ex athletes more they need to use people who know the sport because I think that we have a lot of people who work for the sport but aren't in the sport and I think that we need people in the sport to actually get out here and stand up and be counted.

I'm the only gold medalist who is actually doing any form of coaching and we need more people out there, more people like me more ex-athletes to go out there and take part.

DC: We just need not to be soft on people I said this eight years ago with regards to Lottery it's such a good thing and it's definitely a good and if used in the right way it will encourage the next generation of athletes to be successful. But for some of them they just have the money and don't necessarily use it in the right way, I'm not sure if that continues today.

But we have just to be tough I know with cycling, having spoken to Chris Boardman, they are tough if they don't think you are going to make the final then they don't fund you. So we need to encourage young people to get involved, and that is what Street Athletics is about, but after that once you show promise and move into the top twenty in the world it's time to move onto the next level and deliver.

Dave Collins has left his post as performance director for UK Athletics what do you think of this decision?

LC: To be honest I don't know if it's going to change anything we will just have to wait and see Dave can only do and only work with what he has got. He was doing a very job, I honestly think he was doing a very good job, so now that there's change we will just have to wait and see but I hope that whoever comes in doesn't undo what he has done but try and work with it because he has some very good ideas I think.

Athletics has had a tough year with the likes of Marion Jones being stripped of her medals how do you think the sport is now being perceived?

DC: I think that anybody, if you were in the stadium of watched it on the television, and saw the performances of Usain Bolt couldn't help but be inspired and I think that was what the sport needed somebody out there having fun and inspiring the next generation of kids, he inspired my four year old who only ever wanted to be a footballer now he wants to be a runner.

That's the impact that sport has on young people and that's why we it's important that we, not shy away because we have responsibilities and if people take drugs they should duely be banned and not be allowed in the sports, but it's important that when people go out and are successful we hype them up because the performances that he did were amazing.

And if you look at America they are churning our sprinter after sprinter after sprinter what are they doing that we aren't?

DC: Well they are bigger a lot of people say why can't we but we have to look at the pool of people we are able to pull on so there's no way we are going to be able to produce the same amount of sprinters that America does, no one can. But you are slowly starting to see the power the shift as the Jamaicans have shown that they can sprint and I think if you look at the past 100 meter winner they have, in some shape or form, Caribbean heritage. It's just believing in yourself and I think that that is something that our young people don't do.

You not only competed in your home country but your home city in the Commonwealth Games what are the pros and cons going to be for the British athletes in 2012?

DC: The pros are if you don't let the pressure get to you the crowd can inspire you I wasn't in the greatest shape going into the Commonwealth Games but going into it I really didn't want to let anybody down and I met so many people walking around Manchester who told me they had bought tickets to watch my final and just knowing people had spent their money to watch me run really inspired me to get myself ready, I was lucky enough to win a bronze and a gold.

Just as you can use that as inspiration that could be a lot of pressure (laughs) if the pressure gets to our athletes then they will under perform and there will be a lot of pressure on them as we have had a good Beijing Olympics and people will be expecting as good, if not better come London 2012.

Finally how do you think London will compare to Beijing?

LC: I hope that everyone who takes part has a great time and we don't try to Beijing but just try to be London we should just be ourselves and there will be a great legacy.

DC: I think we will get behind it and support it and I think we will put on an amazing games all the doom and gloom and negative stuff is over now I think everybody, having seen how the team performed in Beijing, are fully supportive now of the team and they deserve all the accolades that they are getting. Now everybody will support it and I believe that we will have a lot of good performances and come out of the games in London 2012 with a lot on new legends.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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