We interview Christine Ohuruogu

"When I left university in 2005 I knew I could go straight into being a full-time athlete because of National Lottery funding."

An athlete whose roots could not be closer to London 2012. She was brought up only a few miles away from where the Olympic Park is being built in Stratford and will head to the Olympic Games as Britain's only defending track and field champion.

Her career has taken off spectacularly since the spring of 2006 when she won gold in the 400 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. A year later, with a breathtaking late surge, she won the World title in Osaka and 12 months after that, the ultimate gold medal was draped around her neck in Beijing.

Christine did not compete indoors in 2010 because she was preparing for the European Championships in Barcelona, with the aim of completing the set of winning all four major titles. But her summer was rocked by injury.

It will be less than a year away from London when Ohuruogu competes at the World Championships in Daegu this summer, looking to reclaim the 400m crown in a year where she has not run much while regaining her full fitness.