Who I admire most: Montell Douglas on Donna Fraser
British 100m record holder Montell Douglas talks to spikesmag.com about her close bond with her former training partner, Donna Fraser, the 2000 Olympic 400m fourth-placer.
“I’ve known Donna for eight years now. I remember she finished fourth in the Sydney Olympics but then struggled with injuries but no matter what she always had a smile throughout. She helped me with training so much, telling me what to do and what not to do. She is a real survivor.
The first time I met Donna was at
Crystal Palace when I joined her training group. There was Donna,
Jo Fenn (former World Indoor 800m bronze medallist) and
Catherine Murphy (Olympic 400m sprinter). I thought ‘oh my gosh’ I’m only 16 and they’ve won all these medals.
But from the first time I met her Donna was always really friendly. Every weekend she used to take me in the car for hill training. She’d always be driving me and I’d fall asleep. When she got injured (and couldn’t attend training) it was like how am I going to be able to get there? I’m going to have to drive myself.
The best piece of advice she gave me was helping to remind me where I have come from and where you are right now. She has definitely taught me patience. That is the one thing Donna has taught me – athletics is a waiting game.
We have a lot of fun joking around and we actually had this overhead shot competition. We would always try and beat each other. I would be trying to win for the youngsters and her for the more experienced athletes. Of course, I never won. She is retired now and although I really miss her being part of the group, I still see her on a weekly basis.”
- Montell Douglas is training to victory in the new NikeWomen Fly Sister One shoe featuring Diamond FLX technology, created especially for women to enhance multi-directional movement. NikeWomen.com
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