91Èȱ¬

Raise Your Game: Why should more girls get involved in throwing events?

Goldie Sayers: You need to be a lot more athletic to throw the javelin than people are led to believe. If you're a good jumper and a good runner, get a javelin in your hand and see what you can do. If you can throw a ball a long way, get a javelin in your hand and see what happens.

You need to be good at running, lifting and throwing. The more athletic you are, the better.

RYG: How do you get started in an event like the javelin?

GS: Go down to your local athletics club. If you think you can do it then you're halfway there. Just practise throwing things.

I used to throw apples out in the garden. I used to pick up pebbles on the beach and throw them into the sea. Just get used to throwing in an uninhibited way.

A javelin's a little bit different to a ball, it's a lot more awkward and you have to get into a rangy position. I just think the more kids we can get throwing, the better.

There are only a small number of girls under 15-years-old that are throwing at British schools levels. We need to nurture those and boost the strength in depth. I don't want to be winning by 15 metres in an event with such great history.

RYG: What are your hopes for the future of female athletics?

GS: It seems to be going in the right direction. We've got a lot of medal prospects on the female side of things. I just want a few young people to come and push me at the Olympic trials in four years, in time for 2012 and beyond. We've definitely got the basics there. I go into schools all the time and you can pick out lots of kids that are good athletes.