Athletics: Lift for Meadows

Meadows: GB captain

It is a huge pat on the back and hopefully I can lead by example.

Jenny Meadows
Quotes of the week

World 800metres bronze-medallist Jenny Meadows has received a confidence boost after being named captain of the Great Britain team for the World Indoor Championships.

Meadows is thrilled to have been selected for the role by UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee as she prepares to appear in the biennial event for the fifth time.

"It is a huge pat on the back and hopefully I can lead by example," said Meadows.

"There have been some fantastic people who have been team captain before and they have never let the team down.

"Hopefully I can do the same."

Contender

The 28-year-old Wigan athlete established her world-class credentials when she claimed outdoor bronze in Berlin last August and will travel to Doha next weekend as a genuine contender for gold medal glory.

Meadows saw more success two weeks ago when she smashed Kelly Holmes' seven-year-old UK record with a superb victory at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham, and she will line up as the world's second fastest performer of the year in the qualifying heats on Friday.

"All of a sudden three weeks before Doha everyone was saying that Jenny has the record and that she is a medal hope," said Meadows.

"I am in the perfect position where I want to be and it is important that I see it not as pressure but as support for me rather than something that becomes a stressful thing.

"It is very important to realise where you have come from and part of me doing well now, it is still very hard to accept that people are saying I am world class.

"It helps to have that experience behind me now that I'm coming into the best form ever."