The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net IN JULY, 2010, she went down with an injury that kept her out of action for the duration of last year. But after an impressive start to her indoor season, veteran sprinter Chandra Sturrup is back. Her time of 7.29 seconds in the 60 metres at a meet in Moskva on February 5 has rejuvenated her career as she surpassed the qualifying standard of 7.35 for another trip to the IAAF World Indoor Championships. The 41-year-old two-time medallist will be a part of the Bahamas' nine-member team that is expected to compete in Istanbul, Turkey, March 9-11. "I don't have anything to lose. This is my last year (at the championships) so I'm going to give it my best shot," said Sturrup, who won gold in 2001 in her last appearance in Lisbon, Portugal. She was also a silver medallist in her first debut in Paris, France, in 1997. "I feel pretty good considering that I've been off for a year and the type of injury that I have. I was happy that I came out and ran 7.29 in my first race, which was the fastest that I ever ran to open my indoor season." The self-trained national 100 metre record holder attributed her time off and her decision to start training in September as the key to her success so far this year. "I started my sprinting earlier than I normally do. But I was watching my body to see if I got tired or my injury flared up, then I would just back off," she said. Sturrup has been sidelined with an injury that prevented her from lifting the muscle in her leg. But the time off has certainly enabled her to get back to full strength. Although she's just outside of the top 50 ranking in the event, Sturrup is confident that she will be able to hold her own because many of the competitors on the performance list ahead of her will not be there in Turkey. "I'm looking at it round by round. I'm looking to go there and get out of the first round and make it to the semifinal," she said. "If I make the semifinal, then I will focus on making the final. Once I get into the final, it's anybody's call. That's how I'm approaching it." In order to duplicate her two medal performances at the championships, Sturrup said she definitely has to go out and run her race. "I know to win the race it's going to be either low 7.0s or high 6.9s," she said. "So I have to go in there with a lot of confidence and just execute my race." Once the event is complete, Sturrup intends to return to the US to gear up for her fifth trip to the Olympic Games in London, England, in August. During that era, Sturrup has won a pair of medals - gold in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, and silver in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia - both as a member of the women's 4 x 100 relay team. With this possibly being her swansong year as a competitor, Sturrup said she would like nothing better than to go out with a bang - an individual medal. "I don't know what my schedule will be like yet. It all depends on what my indoor season is like, then I will decide on when I will open up outdoors," she said. And for those who have been talking about her age, Sturrup said she hopes they will concentrate more on just how fit she is. "To me, age is just a number. I don't look at my age at all. I'm still running well," she said. "So why is it because I've turned a certain age, people expect you to perform at that age? Get over the age. Look at my performance." Sturrup said once she can stay healthy, she intends to defy the odds this year and be a force to reckon with both indoors and outdoors before she winds down her long and illustrious career.