British sprinter Joice Maduaka poses for the camera

Joice Maduaka: Facebook saved my athletics career

Veteran British sprinter Joice Maduaka is enjoying an unexpected late revival in her career thanks to the power of Facebook. spikesmag.com found out more.

After injury ruined her chances of what would have been a third Olympic appearance last summer, the future looked bleak for the multiple UK sprint champion Joice Maduaka. Aged 35 her career appeared to be heading nowhere and one of the great servants of British athletics was expected by many to just fade away – yet fade away she has not.

Maduaka, a feisty character, was determined she would not be remembered this way and an unexpected opportunity presented itself in the most unlikely of places.

Each day the British athlete posts a quote on Facebook and this particular day last summer it read "when people show you their worst side, believe them".

Maduaka apologises and admits she is not 100% sure at the words of the quote nor its author but later that day she received a reply from Loren Seagrave – a man who coached not only former Olympic sprint champions Donovan Bailey, Pauline Davis and Gwen Torrence but former German international soccer player Oliver Bierhoff.

Seagrave told Maduaka he liked the quote. For the Brit it was a 'pinch yourself' moment.

"I was like, ‘shut up! this isn’t Laren Seagrave', but it was him," she told spikesmag.com. "At that point it was all going really bad. My ankle was hanging off and I replied to him saying I don’t want to leave the sport on my knees... I wanted to walk away from the sport with my head held high."

With the hopes of a third appearance in the Olympic Games in tatters and the prospect of her lottery funding being axed these were tough times for the Londoner. Yet it was clear Maduaka was not about to throw in the towel.

The pair kept in contact over the next few weeks until out of the blue Seagrave asked the sprinter, if she could have one more coach in the sport who would she want?

Maduaka did not hesitate, ‘you,’ she answered emphatically. She was desperate to tap into the vast knowledge base of a man who had not only coached some of the all-time great sprinters but who has written a number of highly regarded books on sprint training.

Seagrave himself had been out of athletics for a decade, preferring to devote his time to Velocity Sports Performance, a company which tries to improve speed in everyone from elite level American footballers to schoolchildren.

However, he was interested in forming a new coaching group and offered the Brit the chance to come. It was a no-brainer for Maduaka who left London to train in Atlanta, Georgia in November and just three months later landed what was her fifth national 60m indoor title.

But what makes Seagrave so special? "He’s amazing, he is a teacher," she explained. "Just being around him... I can’t explain it. I am a thinking athlete, so I ask questions and he gives me answers. He has been successful, so I know his methods been tried and tested with other athletes."

Maduaka has responded positively to the USA move and is delighted to join a down-to-earth training group which includes the likes of former Olympic long jump champion Dwight Phillips, 10.95 100m sprinter Me’Lisa Barber and 2007 World 100m silver medallist Derrick Atkins.

"All of the people in the training group did not have great seasons last year so we are all in the same place," she explained. "There are no egos. We are all a bit older and that definitely works as well. We all know why we were here and we are all pulling in the same direction."

As a sprinter who made her international debut 11 years ago Maduaka thought she had seen it all, but the first warm up she underwent under Seagrave lasted an hour and she added "I nearly passed out three times."

However, she is appreciative of why she is undergoing the hard work.

"When you are running you know he has sat down and thought about the distance you are running and how it is going to help you out."

Other differences have also emerged in her training programme from past experiences.

She does not train at all between competitions on the European circuit – preferring to keep her body fresh. Maduaka is fully supportive of the approach and is delighted with her all-round shape, where she hopes to make an assault on the British team for the World Championships this summer in Berlin.

"He is not trying to destroy you body, but you find you are putting all this work in often a sneaky way – during the one-hour warm up," she said laughing. "I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, but I don’t look big. I’ve got a coach that I can really trust in."