Reade's golden tonic
Shanaze Reade will hope to erase the painful memories of Beijing when the BMX competition gets under way.
Last Updated: 08/08/12 12:37pm
Shanaze Reade will hope to erase the painful memories of Beijing four years ago when the Olympic BMX competition gets under way.
Silver was not good enough for an over-eager Reade in the last Games and she tried a gold-medal-or-bust manoeuvre which went wrong and she ended up missing out on a podium place.
The 23-year-old from Crewe was set to begin the early rounds of competition on Wednesday, with Liam Phillips in action in the men's event, with finals on Friday.
"I learned a lot from that last Olympic Games," said Reade.
"It was an event that was heart-breaking and gut wrenching but at the same time made me better prepared for London, where it all matters.
Recollection
"I want to win in my home country. If I could have the option of winning in Beijing or winning in London, I'd take London every day of the week."
Every recollection of BMX's debut in Beijing features Reade tumbling to the floor and every interview she has done since has seen her questioned on the subject.
"I like it, it's important," she said. "It's not like people are reminding me of Beijing for not doing my best.
"It's not hard, but at the same time I want to change that and make people remember me for a gold medal now, a winning performance.
"But at the same time if I go in there and do my absolute best and I get seventh or I get bronze, or whatever colour the medal, as long as I can step away thinking I did everything I possibly could, I can't ask for anything more."
Reade crashed out of May's BMX World Championships in Birmingham in front of a partisan crowd, just a few days after recovering from a heavy training fall.
Jeopardy
Phillips, Britain's sole male entrant, suffered a broken collarbone at the National Indoor Arena, a day after winning time-trial silver, putting his Olympics place in jeopardy.
"It's a miraculous recovery," the 23-year-old from Burnham-on-Sea said.
"I'm in arguably better shape than I was for the worlds, which I didn't think was possible.
"What's really surprised me is the fact I've come out of the other end with even more than I had at the worlds.
"I'm positive and I'm looking forward to racing. I want to go out there and be a part of it.
"My only goal and objective is to put in my best. I know I've put in the work and I'm a good enough bike rider to be able to win or come out with a medal."