Jemma Simpson isn't being distracted by the prospect of helping her parents beat the bookies at London 2012.
800 metre runner firmly focused on Team GB selection
Jemma Simpson isn't being distracted by the prospect of helping her parents beat the bookies at this summer's Olympics - but the 800 metre runner might just demand a cut of the fortune should she strike gold.
Six years ago, Ted and June Simpson were so sure of their daughter's potential for middle distance glory at London 2012 that they staked £200 on her to win any event at 200/1 and the same amount on her collecting a medal of any colour at 66/1.
Since the start of 2006, Simpson has gone on to compete at six major championships, including the Beijing Games and two worlds, and she now feels ready to challenge for a podium position as she enters the peak years of her career.
A victory for the 28-year-old, who reached the European final in 2010 before missing last year's world championships due to injury, would prompt a £53,000 bookie pay-out but she's only motivated by reaching the top of her sport.
Simpson said: "I think I'd deserve a percentage of it!
"They just saw the opportunity and took a gamble - I think if anyone is going to back you then your parents are. I didn't know too much about it at the time.
"If you do win a medal then good things will probably come from it in terms of financial rewards anyway. But I'm just trying to focus on the race rather than all the things going on around it."
Such a windfall would be an ironic boost for the family of an athlete who was dropped from UK Athletics' lottery funding programme last year despite her strong objections.
The Newquay and Par runner contemplated taking her case to an independent panel after her initial appeals were turned down by the UKA, who had chosen to back Marilyn Okoro, Jenny Meadows and Emma Jackson instead.
Simpson, who twice ran an Olympic 'A' qualifying standard time of one minute 59.59 seconds towards the end of an injury-hit 2011, reluctantly gave up the battle to focus solely on training ahead of the biggest year of every British athlete's life.
The three-time national champion feels she can only prove UKA head coach Charles van Commenee wrong by reaching the final in London but she's got to get there first.
Qualification
Only those who finish in the top two at next weekend's Aviva 2012 Trials in Birmingham and achieve the 'A' qualifying time this season before July 2 will secure places, with the third spot going down to the selectors' digression.
The two-time world championships semi-finalist said: "I don't think Charles was ever doubting that I could make the team. His doubts were whether I could make the Olympic final, so just qualifying doesn't really prove anything.
"And I've qualified for the team several times in the past so nobody doubts I'm capable of doing that. But what would prove a point is making the Olympic final and that's what I'm striving to do.
"Odds are against me making the team as I'm sure Charles would ideally want to select his funded athletes which is fair enough. But the rules say that if you get the 'A' standard time and get in the top two in the trials then you're guaranteed selection. That's the job I've got to do.
"If I don't manage that then selection is pretty much out of my control and it goes down to the panel. There's nothing I'd be able to do about it then so I must go out there at the trials and do the best I can.
"I've been funded in the past and you still go into the trials knowing that only finishing in the top two guarantees a spot - and I've always done that. In the past I never thought the funding issue comes into it but because it's the Olympic year maybe it's a bit different.
"I'm not going to worry about that though - I'll just give my all and hope for the best."
Mental edge
Simpson doesn't think she'll be at her peak form at the trials having come into the season with an injury but isn't fazed by the challenge that her British rivals pose due to her previous experience of trials success.
She said: "It's a shame really because if I had a couple of extra weeks then I'd be in very good shape for the trials, but it's just the way it is. I know I'll run better as the season goes on and although I won't be at my strongest at the trials, I've just got to give all I have.
"No athlete is super human. You can only hold your best form for a certain amount of time. Emma and Marylin obviously ran very well early season and will go into the trials in a very strong position.
"That's good for them as making the team depends a lot on how you perform at the trials but it's then about how we move onto the next level and really peak at the Olympics and run well there.
"This is why sometimes getting injured early in the season works in your favour because it means you start racing a little bit later - but it's just the small matter of qualifying for the team which will now be more of a challenge!
"But I do have a mental edge because I do know how to win that race and I know what I have to do in order to come out on top.
"Obviously it helps being in the best shape at that particular time but on the day on any competition, there's so many variables which influences who ends up winning the race. Especially in the 800m because it's such a tactical race. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Having experienced plenty of major championships, Simpson believes she's now reached an age where most female 800m runners start to blossom.
Peaking
She said: "Statistically most medallists come from their second Olympics so having one Games under my belt is valuable and will help me a lot.
"I was only 25 at the time of the 2009 world championships so probably wasn't ready to make the final in terms of aerobic development, and the following year I began to run really well and became a lot more consistent.
"I did make the final at the Europeans which gave me even more experience but in the first peak year of my life I was injured so I missed the last world championships.
"Therefore I haven't been able to show how good I can be. When you're young it's good to make the team and enjoy the experience but you're competing against really experienced athletes. It's not easy by any stretch of the imagination.
"When Jenny Meadows reached 28, which is how old I am now, that's when her career took off and was able to maximise her performances. Last year I was entering into my performance years but the injuries meant I wasn't able to capitalise so this year is really important for me.
"I kind of do see this year as the start. I genuinely feel that in female 800m running you really hit your peak between 28 and 32.
"Just look at Kelly Holmes - she won her double gold at the age of 34. There are obviously some runners who are really good at a young age but looking back over who made Olympic and world finals, the large majority are between 28 and 32.
"So I think I am reaching my best but it's all about staying injury free and maintaining consistency."
Jemma Simpson was speaking at the opening of the new Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites which overlooks the Olympic Park. Holiday Inn is the Official Hotel Provider to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
