With a first ever major championship gold medal secured this summer, European 10,000m champion Jo Pavey insists attempting to compete at a fifth Olympics in Rio 2016 is firmly on her radar.
Pavey will be just one month short of her 43rd birthday when the Olympics takes place in Rio in just under two years time.
However she proved age was no barrier in August, becoming the oldest female European champion in history when she stormed to victory in the 10,000m at the 2014 European Championships in Zurich.
Pavey’s best finish at an Olympic Games is fifth in the 5,000m at Athens 2004 while she has also represented Great Britain at Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and most recently London 2012 where she finished seventh in both the 5,000m and 10,000m.
And having modified her training regime in recent years to cope with the demands placed on her body, the 41-year-old has no intention of stopping competing just yet.
“I want to keep going - I never know when I’m going to retire,” she said.
“I would love to compete in the next Olympics so the last few weeks have given me hope that is a realistic possibility.
“I’ve been trying for absolutely years to try and get a gold medal and never achieved it, so I wouldn’t have thought this would have been the circumstances - being 40 now with two young children.
“I don’t really notice any difference I don’t treat myself as old. I actually get less injured than when I was younger because I’m more able to read my body and what I’m coping with and what I’m not coping with and things like that.
“I’m still doing the two training sessions a day but sometimes the morning one might be later and the evening one might be later because of that. So it’s very much juggling, but it’s just about getting through each day really and getting things done by muddling through.”
© Sportsbeat 2014