Watching Christine Ohoruogo race was exhausting. The gun would go. She'd be in the mix. You'd not panic - knowing that her finish was her greatest strength. Another hundred metres would pass. She'd look off the pace. The butterflies would begin. You'd quell them. 'It's fine. Chrissy finishes like a train.' The athletes would exit the bend. Ohoruogo not even amongst the medals. The butterflies set loose. You'd leap from your seat. 'She's left it too late. Even Christine can't pull this off.' But, wait! With eighty or so to go, she'd start to move through the field. Are they slowing down? Is she speeding up? Who cares? Britain's finest every quarter-miler would surge through the standings, and - implausibly - produce the goods. She'd have a new international medal. You'd have a few new grey hairs. Each and every time she'd get you with one of the sport's most exhilarating pranks: waiting until the last minute to remind you just how phenomenal she was.
Four Olympic gongs. Eight from outdoor World Championships. Medals at nine consecutive global championships: a feat only matched by Usain Bolt and Merlene Ottey. One of Britain's all time greats.
Since announcing her retirement, the British record holder's given very, very few interviews, and so we were chuffed to bits when she sat down with Bayo for almost three hours. In this, the first of a two-part interview special, Christine discusses international netball, being 'found' by the 400 metres, her breakthrough season on the track, and the build up to her scintillating World gold in Osaka - including a powerfully honest discussion of her year-long suspension after missing a third out-of-competition drugs test.
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