Road to Rio: Louise Bloor out to defy youth and stay in the fast lane

Continuing our Road to Rio series, Ed White talks to Louise Bloor, a Rotherham sprinter hoping to turn home advantage into a platform to glory.
Great Britain's Louise Bloor, left, and Asha Philip. (Picture: Action Images/Steven Paston

Livepic)Great Britain's Louise Bloor, left, and Asha Philip. (Picture: Action Images/Steven Paston

Livepic)
Great Britain's Louise Bloor, left, and Asha Philip. (Picture: Action Images/Steven Paston Livepic)

Staying ahead of the game is important for all athletes but even more so for Rotherham sprinter Louise Bloor with the looming threat of a new generation breathing down her neck.

At 30-years-old, Bloor has become a veteran of a Great Britain 4x100m relay squad bidding to usurp the biggest powers in world athletics at the Rio Olympics this summer.

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It has been 32 years since a British women’s quartet have picked up a sprint relay medal at the Olympics, while the men have stepped on the podium only once in the last 50 years.

But with the emerging talents of Dina Asher-Smith, who broke Montell Douglas’ British record at the Olympic Park in London last July, and fellow young pretenders Jodie Williams and Desiree Henry, there is a real belief that times could be changing.

Four years ago, women’s British relay running was in disarray and the squad did not qualify a place in the top 16 teams for their home Olympics.

But a shift of focus has reaped rewards and the 24-year British record was broken in Zurich in August 2014 before the team fell just 0.07sec away from a medal at the World Championships in Beijing 12 months ago.

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Bloor was an unused member of the squad in Beijing. But after a strong start to her 2016 calendar, she feels the speed is in her legs to challenge the generation below and earn her vest for Rio.

She said: “Four years ago the relay programme wasn’t where it wanted to be and we didn’t even qualify a spot to race in London. We have put a lot of time back into it and there’s been a big push from above to really support us.

“You have seen how quick the girls are running. There’s no reason why we couldn’t get a medal in that 4x100m. We are definitely in great shape. These girls have such raw talent, and it’s unbelievable. I wish I could have had that but I was never in that position.

“This is a team event and you need to be working together to get things right. Of course you have your own individual targets but you have to support the other athletes and keep working together.

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“Saying that, they are just going to get faster and faster so I have to get my head down and make sure they don’t overtake me before Rio.

“At the moment I feel like I am doing that. I feel fast so hopefully I can stay one step ahead of them.”

Bloor will be aiming to make her first impression on the selectors at the British Indoor Championships in Sheffield this weekend.

The winter period is an essential time for her to improve her speed work out of the blocks and in Olympic year, her hard work under long-term coach Tony Minichiello is paying off on the clock.

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In Vienna last month, Bloor dipped under her quickest 60m time by two hundredths of a second to set a new personal best of 7.35sec.

And with comfortable surroundings ahead this weekend, she believes another personal best could be on the cards.

Bloor, who mixes athletics with her role as a nutritionist for British Diving, said: “The indoor season is very important for me. The best part of my 100 is the last 40 so to focus on the drive out is a critical factor.

“I am feeling much faster in my legs so I am hoping for a little bit more out of them, if everything goes well. I would like to think that a time in the 7.2s is possible, and then I can be looking around the 11.3sec mark when I get back over the 100m distance in the summer.

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“We have done a lot of work with my technique over the winter so hopefully I can get my times down. Someone has challenged me to run 7.25sec this winter, which I’m not quite sure about. But if I can get into the 7.2s I would be quite happy.

“I’m taking it all day by day and seeing how I am running. My body is holding up and I have no reason to call it a day.

“I feel in control of where I’m going and what I’m doing which is nice because I’ve been in the situation in the past where I’ve felt out of control in terms of what to do. At the moment I’m enjoying athletics more than I ever have.

“I’m 30, turning 31 in September but I’m still getting quicker, so as long as that’s the case then I’m going to keep going.”

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Bloor’s training partner Jessica Ennis-Hill will miss the indoor championships in her home city but her absence has not turned off the public’s interest with a full gate expected over the weekend at the English Institute of Sport. Bloor would prove a popular home winner too.

She said: “I love running in Sheffield. It’s my home track and I run on it all the time so I’m very familiar with the surroundings.

“I was gutted to miss it last year so it’s exciting to come back. Hopefully I will be able to perform in front of the home crowd and produce a quick time.”