Perri Shakes-Drayton will look to lay to rest her painful Olympic memories at this weekend’s Sainsbury's Anniversary Games - and admits she has a point to prove.
Shakes-Drayton was one of the local poster girls of London 2012, living in Bow and training at Mile End.
But she failed to make the 400m hurdles final, running well below her best in a performance that left her 'devastated'.
However, she is determined to make the most of a return trip to the Olympic Stadium this weekend.
“I will have to treat it as my Olympic final, because the top girls will be involved and it will be a very competitive race,” she said.
“I’m really looking forward to the weekend, it will be great to come back with the British crowd and it will give me an opportunity to run against the world’s best.
“Everyone is talking about the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, it’s nice that there is so much interest and that tickets sold out so quickly. That’s what you want.”
Shakes-Drayton recently won the national title at the Sainsbury's British Championship in Birmingham and will use London as a springboard to next month's IAAF World Championships in Moscow.
“After this Friday my focus is completely on Moscow and on making the final there,” she said.
“I’m over what happened at the Olympics. I’ve come a long way since then and I won’t even think about the Olympics coming into this. It’s a new day, a new race and a new opportunity.
“I know that I can beat Natalya Antyukh (the Olympic champion), it will happen. I have beaten her before but she has got quicker and that is what I need to do to beat her.
“I think the more I do, the better I will become, so hopefully you will see the best of me at the World Championships.”
© Sportsbeat 2013