Chris Tomlinson believes he can win gold at London 2012, after looking at the successes of those around him.
Long Jumper uses others' achievements to fuel self-belief
Chris Tomlinson believes he can win gold at London 2012, after looking at the successes of those around him.
The British long jumper has struggled to show his best form in the Olympic Games, finishing 5th in Athens in 2004 before failing to qualify for the final in Beijing four years ago.
But he is pointing to the achievements of the likes of Yamile Aldama and Robbie Grabarz to prove that athletes can triumph in the face of adversity, seeing no reason why he cannot be the next success story of Team GB.
Aldama, who won the world indoor triple jump crown at the age of 39, is Tomlinson's training partner, and he says she is a huge inspiration.
"She came back as world indoor champion and she's 39," he said. "So why can't I be Olympic champion?
"If someone had said a year and a half ago, when her son Diego was born, she's going to be world indoor champion and one of the favourites for Olympic gold, everyone would have laughed.
"If she can do it, why can't I do it?
Belief
"She has shown you can do whatever if you believe in it. So much of this sport is belief.
And Tomlinson is starting to see a new positive attitude in TeamGB that could stand the squad in good stead for London.
"British athletes now are starting to believe. Across the board we are at a competitive level and can bring back a lot of medals. A lot of that comes from belief.
"When I was very young I was in the team with the likes of Colin Jackson, Jonathan Edwards and Steve Backley and saw those guys winning medals, and then we had lean years when we didn't have athletes getting medals but I think it's now coming full circle.
"It's being inspired by one or two people going out there doing it, like Mo Farah can beat the Africans, why can't we do that?"
Positivity
But before he can think about the Olympics, the 30-year-old needs to make sure of his selection at this week's European Championships, and he is hoping to take a leaf out of Grabarz's book as he tries to produce his best.
High jumper Grabarz lost his lottery funding at the end of a poor 2011 season but is now ranked second in the world. Tomlinson believes positivity has played a big part.
"A year ago most people wouldn't have known who Robbie Grabarz was, now he's an Olympic gold medal contender," added the Middlesbrough-born athlete.
"I shared a room with him in Rome (at the Diamond League meeting) and he said 'I've jumped 2.31m in training and I'm going to jump well'. He jumped 2.33m to win."
