London 2012 Olympics: World title triumph boosts Spence’s hopes of pentathlon gold

MHAIRI Spence is hoping to turn her world title into Olympic gold and continue Britain’s remarkable record in women’s modern pentathlon.

The London Games marks the centenary of the sport’s inclusion in the Olympics but it was not until Sydney in 2000 that women were allowed to compete in pentathlon, the sport invented by the founder of the modern Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

Britain have been by far the most successful nation in the women’s competition, winning four medals at the last three Games, including gold for Stephanie Cook in Sydney. Four years ago it was Heather Fell on the podium, the Devonian winning silver, but she did not make the team this time, with Spence and Samantha Murray claiming the two spots available. It was a fierce battle, with six women in the running, but it was the World Championships in Rome in May that proved decisive as Spence took gold and Murray bronze.

Spence, from Farr near Inverness, goes into tomorrow’s competition ranked second in the world behind Laura Asadauskaite of Lithuania and as one of the favourites for a medal.

She said: “Obviously there’s pressure but we’re home nation athletes and there’s going to be pressure no matter what. I want to go to the Olympic Games and I want to do well, I’m not just there to make up the numbers. Obviously winning the World Championships has put me in a good position. I know that I can go there and give my all and it’s not impossible to stand on the podium. That’s what I’m aiming for but that’s what I’ve been aiming for since I was eight years old.

“Winning the World Championships didn’t make my goal any different, maybe it’s just made it a bit more real. I’ve been doing everything I can.”

Spence is one of Team GB’s biggest characters and she has promised herself a puppy called Donald if she wins a medal in London.

It has been a long journey for the 26-year-old, who went to Beijing as a reserve and considered giving up the sport when she feared her Olympic dream would never be realised. She added: “It’s unbelievable to be finally in the situation. I said to my coach, ‘I’ve waited nine years for this’. And especially the four long years since Beijing, I’ve waited to be in the situation where I’m the competing athlete and it’s such a great feeling. I feel like I’m where I should be.”

Spence’s world title will certainly give her added confidence as she hopes to fence, swim, ride, run and shoot her way onto the podium, but performance director Jan Bartu has told her to forget that achievement.

He said: “Once you’re on the podium winning World Championships and you know you’re two months from the biggest competition in your life, you have to put this experience aside, shut the door and move on. You can’t deal with both: ‘I’m world champion and I’m going to do well at the Olympic Games’. No, it doesn’t work like that, it has to be separate. It’s really remarkable what she’s achieved up to this point.”

While Spence has been one of Britain’s top pentathletes for years, Murray timed her run to perfection, enjoying a stunning 2012 culminating in that World Championships medal. The 22-year-old from Clitheroe said: “It gave me confidence and showed me that everything I was doing was really working, and also proved to everybody that I am a contender for medals at that level. I’ve done it at the World Championships so why not at the Olympics?”

Cook hopes Spence’s performance in Rome, where she overcame a 37-second deficit going into the final event, the combined run and shoot, to reel in three-time world champion Amelie Caze from France, can prove the catalyst for success in London.

The former Olympic champion said: “Mhairi really proved to herself what she could do at the World Championships. I think she surprised a lot of people by how well she ran and how solid her combined event was. To overhaul Amelie Caze was a really phenomenal achievement. She and Samantha will both be boosted by their results this year and hopefully they can use the crowd to their advantage as well.”

And Cook would love to see either Spence or Murray - or perhaps both - maintain Britain’s women’s proud record. She added: “Our track record has proved the British women pentathletes are very strong. In many ways the fact Heather Fell did not qualify for London is testament to how strong our women’s squad is. There’s a lot of pressure on them, I just hope they’re going to be able to continue that medal run.”

The modern pentathlon competition begins today with the men’s event, where Nick Woodbridge and Sam Weale go for Britain.