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Hi again,

It is a bit of a miracle but I’m fit and ready to compete in the Olympic long jump qualification on Saturday.

It is hard to believe I’m in this position. Less than three weeks ago I sustained a 3cm x 3cm tear and I was on crutches up until a week ago. Doctors said I had a 20 per cent chance of recovery and it normally takes between five and six weeks to heal but, to be fair, everyone has done everything they can to support me. I heard Michael Ballack, the Chelsea and Germany footballer, had a similar injury and it took him two months to recover!

After the initial ice and compression for the first five days, the physio, Mark Young took over, worked his magic and each day I could see an improvement. I had one bad morning but I could not allow myself to get down in the doldrums and no matter how professional you are I have to accept every athlete picks up injuries from time to time.

To be honest, I never had a chance to dwell on the injury too much because of the intense nature of rehabilitation. I was travelling across London for physio treatment and sessions at the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. In fact, I was actually leading a much busier life than when I’m a fit and active athlete!

One of the hardest parts was not trying to test the calf out myself. You are tempted to think, 'I wonder if I can do a calf raise' but you have to remain disciplined and to only test out the injury in front of the doctor. Thankfully, I knew I had every chance of making the Olympics the day before my final fitness test. I ran without pain at 90 per cent of my full speed on the long jump runway, so I was confident I could make it.

The final fitness test was at Brunel University at 10am on Monday and they recorded me at 96 per cent of my full speed - which is the speed I would normally train at anyway. I’d met their criteria of being able to sprint at 90 per cent - I’d done it. A few hours later I was on the plane to Beijing to compete at the Olympic Games and now I have to get my head around the fact I’m competing for a gold medal.

Since I arrived the Games have been pretty incredible and the organisers have done a fantastic job. It seems as if the whole city is right behind the event and I’m looking forward to competing in the Bird’s Nest Stadium. I’ve tried to watch as much of the Olympics as I can and I’ve taken a real liking to the weightlifting. Obviously, being an athlete I lift weights myself and it is pretty amazing watching the different weight categories and what they can lift.
I’m sharing a room in the Olympic Village with Martyn Rooney and Andrew Steele - two of the 400m boys. They flew in from Macau on Thursday, so I had the room to myself for a bit which gave me the chance to catch up on my sleep. It’s funny I missed out on quite a bit of sleep because I was doing so much to recover from the injury.

My dad and wife, Lucia, are flying out to support me in Beijing but I’m not feeling too much pressure. Winning my race for fitness has been a gamble and if it doesn’t pay off, so be it. But you have to give it a try. It is the Olympic Games, after all.

Chris