Eilidh Doyle: Christine Ohuruogu & Dai Greene inspire Great Britain captain
Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Eilidh Doyle will draw on inspirational memories of former captains Christine Ohuruogu and Dai Greene when she leads Britain's World Athletics Championships team out in London next month.
For the Scottish 400m hurdler, who has competed in four World Championships, the pair "stand out".
Greene was skipper of the British team at the London 2012 Games, with Ohuruogu captain at the 2013 Worlds.
"I'll be there trying to follow in the footsteps of those two," Doyle said.
"I remember Christine in Moscow in 2013, she gave a really great speech that just got everyone totally motivated and then she went on to win the World Championships - so there is great motivation and inspiration there."
Ohuruogu was the first female British athlete to be twice crowned world champion, having also claimed gold in the 400m at the 2009 championships in Berlin.
"It was my first [World Championships] and I remember being quite nervous and looking up to a lot of the older and more experienced athletes - even if they just chatted to you it was such a great thing," said Doyle, who was named captain on Tuesday.
In his time as captain, Greene - the 2011 men's 400m hurdles world champion - provided a level of backing that Doyle intends to repeat.
"He'd had a bit of an up and down year but went there and performed brilliantly and again he gave a really great speech and was out there supporting the team," said Doyle, who won bronze in the 4x400m relay at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The 30-year-old is aware that a strong personal performance is key in her role as the squad's figurehead. An impressive past few weeks, during which she won the British National Championships and finished third in the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, has given her a timely boost.
"I feel like I am in good shape right now," Doyle said. "I feel like I have put some really good consistent races together and competed really well against the girls that I am going to have to race at the World Championships."
With the standard of competition in the women's 400m hurdles hitting new highs this year - for the first time in history three women, including Rio 2016 Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad, ran under 53 seconds in the same race at the USA National trials last month - Doyle knows she has it all to do in London Stadium in August.
"I am going to have run every race like it is the final and really go for it," she said.
"I just want to make sure I go there and run my best race of the year on that track in London."
