Reigning Olympic 200-metres champion, Veronica Campbell-Brown, relaxes at the Mt Sac Relays at the Hilmer Lodge Stadium in California last Sunday. (Photo: Kayon Raynor)

REIGNING Olympic 200-metre and World 100-metre gold medallist, Veronica Campbell-Brown, says she is working towards winning the sprint double at this summer's Olympics in Beijing, China, between August 8-24.

"That's exactly what I'm working on," the three-time Jamaican Sportswoman of the year (2004, 2005, 2007) told the Observer last Sunday at the 50th staging of the Mt Sac Relays at the Hilmer Lodge Stadium in California, USA.
"I got two gold and a bronze at the last Olympics (in Athens) and I feel like in order to feel like I'm progressing, I'll have to surpass that, so I'm working hard and I'm looking forward to win the double and hopefully our relay team will be able to bring home the gold also," added Campbell-Brown, who holds lifetime best times of 10.85sec and 22.05sec in the 100 and 200, respectively.

Campbell-Brown, who clocked 22.66 to win the 200 metres at Mt SAC after helping the International All Stars capture the women's 4x100 in a world-leading 42.85secs, disclosed her training had been hampered for a short while after sustaining a slight hamstring injury recently.

"I'm not satisfied with the time," she said after the 200 metres.

Last Sunday, this newspaper reported that World 200-metres champion, American Allyson Felix, has hopes of contesting the sprint double in Beijing.

"My main priority is the 200 metres and it's definitely my aim to win gold there and... after that I'm going to run the 100 metres at (the US National) trials just to see how that goes and hopefully I can run the relays as well," Felix said from her home in Santa Clarita Valley, California.

"I think everything will just depend on how my season goes along and how the 100 goes along this year," Felix added, during an interview with journalists from Jamaica, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, USA, Spain and France, who spent four days with the two-time 200-metres world champion as part of the IAAF's elite athletes programme 'Day in the life of Allyson Felix'.

Asked for her reaction to news that her arch-rival in the 200 will be challenging her in the 100 as well, Campbell-Brown replied: "I'm looking forward to all my competition (that) I'll be experiencing...

"I'm just looking forward to have fun this year and just compete. I'm working towards defending my 200 metres title at the Olympics and winning the 100 metres," a confident Campbell-Brown said.

The former Vere Technical star is the only female sprinter in history to win 100 titles at the IAAF World Youth (1999 in Poland), World Junior (2000 in Chile) and World Senior championship (2007 in Japan) levels.

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