The latest episode in the Legends of athletics, signature edition series is now online and features 1997 world 200m champion Ato Boldon.
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The latest episode in the Legends of athletics, signature edition series is now online and features 1997 world 200m champion Ato Boldon.

Legends of athletics, signature edition – Ato Boldon

<h3 style="text-align: center;">Dina Asher-Smith (GBR)</h3>
World 200m champion, world 100m silver medallist, European 100m and 200m champion. 
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I was the sort of kid that gave everything a go; swimming, diving, ballet. I even played the trumpet!
I was aged eight when a friend said she would buy me an ice cream if I would go along with her to a new running club at my primary school. I decided to take up the offer, but didn&rsquo;t realise by turning up on day one that I&rsquo;d be entered into a local cross-country competition.
I turned up on a cold November day at Crystal Palace in my bright orange hat, thinking; &lsquo;What have I got myself into?! This is certainly not worth an ice cream!' I ran with about 300-400 kids and I&rsquo;m sure at one stage I tasted blood in my mouth &ndash; I&rsquo;d never done an endurance sport before. It was only some time later I realised I&rsquo;d finished fifth out of the entire field. From then I had to do a whole season of cross country before later finding sprinting, which I enjoyed far more.
For many years, I didn't take sprinting too seriously. To be honest, I didn&rsquo;t think I was anything special. But after I was nominated for BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2013, everything changed. Up until that point, I was a typical schoolgirl who happened to do running on the side. But here I was up for an award against career sportswomen and that was the point I decided to devote myself more professionally to athletics.
I&rsquo;ve always been competitive. I come from a very competitive family. My mum played hockey and when we used to play in my back garden she would never just let me go past her like most mums would. She used to say to be able to pass me you have to beat me &ndash; you have to be good enough. That&rsquo;s just how my family was.
I run because I love to compete. I love racing, especially the adrenaline rush and high I feel after I finish.
I also love running because I like to perform in front of a crowd &ndash; it makes me happy.
When I was younger, I used to do street jazz dancing. My parents used to watch and I just loved being on stage and putting on a show &ndash; even if I wasn&rsquo;t always in time! In a similar way, I love to sprint and give my best in front of a big crowd and make people proud.
Some people ask me what is feels like to sprint fast. To achieve this, you need that perfect balance between being both aggressive and completely relaxed. It is like a beautiful paradox of producing something so graceful with so much power and force.
I feel both fortunate and grateful that I wake up every day and do something that I adore.
Steve Landells for World Athletics

The world 200m champion on why she sprints for a living

Dina Asher-Smith: why I sprint

<h3 style="text-align: center;">Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)</h3>
World 10,000m and cross-country champion, world record-holder for 5000m and 10,000m. 
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My passion for running started from the age of 10 or 11. I remember my brother and I would put some poles around a grass field as markers, and we&rsquo;d race friends and neighbours six or seven times around the poles.
Even back then, running brought me great joy and immense happiness. &nbsp;Running was in my blood from a young age. It was my passion.
I soon started competitive running at primary school. Back then I competed just for the glory of my school. It was never for commercial gain. The glory of competing for my school is what motivated me. Sometimes I finished second, sometimes third, I didn&rsquo;t always win but I was grateful and happy.
It was while at high school in 2012 I first dreamed of being a professional runner. But even later, once I started training full time, my passion for running has remained.
I&rsquo;m at my happiest running the tempo runs. I love it. Those long speed sessions where you have to try to hold the same pace for a long time. It brings me immense joy &ndash; especially those sessions when you finish and you still feel like you can push some more.
It is never a good day when, for whatever reason, I can&rsquo;t run &ndash; especially if I&rsquo;m injured or ill. I love to wake up every morning and go for a run.
I would say there is immense value in running. Success starts with a healthy body and a healthy mind, and when we run we are nourishing both. This will then allow us to be more productive and achieve our best results, no matter the profession.
Running brings with it great freedom and health. And even after I&rsquo;m retired from professional athletics, I look forward to the thought of going for a run every day.
Steve Landells for World Athletics

The world 10,000m champion explains why he runs

Joshua Cheptegei: why I run

<h3 style="text-align: center;">Tobi Amusan (NGR)</h3>
African and Commonwealth 100m hurdles champion
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I started the hurdles by chance. I went to a meeting aged 13 or 14 intending to compete in the sprints and long jump only to realise by the time I arrived, the only event remaining on the programme was the hurdles. My coach encouraged me to enter and I ended up winning, which is how my hurdles journey began.
I continued to do sprints and long jump for a time but also squeezed in one hurdles sessions a week &ndash; where I put cones and tyres down on the track to jump over because we had no hurdles in my home city.
I continued to perform well but what propelled me into hurdling full-time was that it was tough to make national teams for the sprints, so I decided to enter the hurdles at the Nigerian Trials for the African Junior Championships. I won and I went to Ethiopia in 2015 100 percent focused on hurdles. I won African junior gold in Addis Ababa and from that point on there was no looking back &ndash; I was a hurdler.
The hurdles is such a spectacular and unique event &ndash; different to a regular sprinting event. For me, there are three phases in the hurdles, that first seven or eight strides which helps provide the foundation for your race. The next phase is the three strides between each of the hurdles and finally the mad dash to the finish line from the final hurdle.
So what do I really enjoy about the hurdles? Well, I enjoy many components including that sweet sound of clearing the hurdles. The hurdles is a rhythm event and I love reaching that rhythmic state where your mind, body and soul is in total tune with the event.
I like the fact that hurdles is such a technical event. When completing drills it requires total focus and discipline, components which shape you not only as an athlete but away from the track too.
Hurdles requires problem solving skills - you need to be swift thinker. If you hit a hurdle you need to think what you need to do to quickly restore balance to get back into a good rhythm.
I also don&rsquo;t think there is a track and field event which can teach humility quite like the sprint hurdles. You can be the fastest in the field but one mistake can spell the end for your race. A hurdler should never go into any race with any level of complacency or arrogance. It teaches you to be humble.
Yet, I would also say with the hurdles there needs to be a certain fearlessness too. You cannot have a negative approach. You need to believe you will clear all of the hurdles and cross that finish line - and this is another reason I like the event so much.
Steve Landells for World Athletics

The hurdles is a rhythm event and I love reaching that rhythmic state where your mind, body and soul is in total tune with the event.

Series14 Apr 2016

Dina Asher-Smith: why I sprint

Joshua Cheptegei: why I run

Tobi Amusan: why I hurdle