O’Rourke: Internet chat spurred me on
Internet chatroom abuse was one of the driving forces behind Derval O’Rourke’s silver medal success in Gothenburg.
The athlete revealed that she took exception to several comments about her on an athletic website chatroom that she read and she used it as a motivational tool at the European Championships.
“I was reading comments about me on an internet site and they were very negative towards me,” Deval O’Rourke said.
“People had written that I was not capable of winning a medal in Gothenburg and that I was a one-race wonder. That annoyed me, but I used it to my benefit. I said: ‘Right, I’ll show them’ and I did.”
O’Rourke, whose season only started on July 12 now plans to run at least another seven or eight races on the lucrative European Grand Prix circuit before putting her spikes away for the winter.
“You can’t replicate racing in training. I didn’t start racing until July 12 and I want to come off the summer with only six races. I think I can go quicker, get a bit more experienced for next year as well.
“I want to run into September and maybe get five or six more races.”
Instead of heading home to Cork for a homecoming party with her family and friends, O’Rourke is Zurich bound where she will run in the 100m hurdles against the world’s best, safe in the knowledge her goal for the season has been achieved.
“Of course it does not really matter what happens in these races. All I cared about was coming to Gothenburg getting a medal and setting a personal best. But it would be nice to put some icing on the cake.
“I’d like to run a few solid 12.8s and maybe another 12.7. I honestly don’t know if I can go much quicker than my 12.72 right now.
“Because I missed those six or seven weeks I think I would be asking too much of myself to run 12.6.
“But of couse you never know. I’ll give it a go anyway.
Her agent, Andy Norman will line up four or five more races after Zurich- all with the promise of fast times and big pay cheques.
“If I didn’t medal her Andy said the best he could probably do was some meeting in Tallin.
“Win a medal and I was in Zurich. That’s the choice you face in this sport. Looking ahead right now I’d like to win the European Indoors next March.
“That depends on how the winter goes, but I think a good indoor season is important in this event.
“Then I will target a final at the World Championships in Osaka.”
