Want to improve your athletics? Take up netball!

The high-speed sport of netball comes to The O2 in London on Sunday as England meet Jamaica in the First Test match of the international series. But as spikesmag.com discovered, athletics and netball have a closer relationship than you might imagine.

Quiz question: what links Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, world heptathlon bronze medallist Kelly Sotherton and former world triple jump champion Trecia Smith?

Answer: The sport of netball, in which all three excelled as teenagers.

Ohuruogu, in particular, was set for a golden future in the sport, an England under-17 and under-19 netball international – it was a tough decision to turn her back on the sport to take up running.

Sotherton, too, was a county standard netballer for the Isle of Wight while Smith was good enough to be selected for the Jamaican national junior squad.

For Sotherton, now one of the world’s finest all-round athletes, her background in the sport as both an attacker and defender was invaluable. "It helped my agility," she said. "Athletics is all about going forward in a straight line but in netball you are using a lot of different muscles and going backwards and forwards. It is quite hard work and good both anaerobically and aerobically."

Sotherton, who finished fourth in the 2008 Olympic heptathlon, has no immediate plans to stop competing in athletics. However, although she has not played netball for more than a decade she one day plans to return to the sport.

"At the end of my [athletics] career I’d like to compete for a club again. As well as making new friends, it is social and can keep you fit," she said. "I don’t want to run when I finish... that is going to come to an end."

Trecia Smith, who landed the World triple jump title in 2005, was also a prolific netballer as a youngster winning the national High School title in her native Jamaica.

She has taken her love of netball a step further by joining a London-based netball club for training and incorporating it as part of her all-round fitness.

Smith, now aged 33, believes the benefits are massive and she hopes to see the value of the training on the triple jump runway next summer.

"I am not the kind of athlete who can focus only on athletics I need a bit of a diversion," she explained. "I realise the older I get the less active I’m becoming. I need to get more active, that was my primary goal for netball... to complement my regular training.

"Since I’ve re-started netball training I’m a lot fitter. My training partners will tell you that I’ve improved. It also helps my plyometrics."

Smith’s coach, Frank Attoh, is also fully supportive of Smith’s decision to combine netball training with that of an athletics regime.

The experienced long and triple jump coach, who also guides the career of European long jump silver medallist Greg Rutherford and World Indoor long jump silver medallist Chris Tomlinson, said, "I don’t think it hurts any athlete to have another hobby. Some people play golf or some people swim and I don’t think there’s a danger of hurting yourself [playing netball]. There is a lot of quick movement and co-ordination in netball. I play myself and it is great all-round fitness. That’s what we are looking for and I’m sure it is going to benefit Trecia’s triple jumping."

Attoh believes many athletes specialise too early in athletics and is adamant athletes should adhere to the principle of playing other sports for as long as possible.

He cites the example of Olympic silver medallist Phillips Idowu’s basketball background and double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes with her PT Army instructor past as prime examples – a fact also supported by Sotherton.

"It is important that young athletes shouldn’t just dedicate themselves just to one sport," she explained. "If you enjoy football – keep playing football. It is another important part of all around training."

But the relationship between athletics and netball works both ways. England Netball international and Commonwealth bronze medallist Chioma Matthews is a former county standard triple jumper who believes her track and field background has benefited her career in the 7-a-side game.

"It is an advantage coming from an athletics background because you are really aware of what your body can do and because you are not completely new to the training, it is not a shock to the system," said Matthews. "Also coming from an athletics background it gives you good discipline."

Matthews is also a long-time friend and former netball team-mate of Christine Ohuruogu and she has little doubt had the Olympic and world 400m champion persisted with her first love she would have excelled on court.

"She has really good endurance," as you might expect from a 400m champion. "She was always really athletics and very smart on court," added Matthews.