It's not over yet, vows Hansen

Ashia Hansen has vowed to bounce back from her Athens heartbreak by winning a medal at the Beijing Olympics in four years’ time.

The 32-year-old, who has been dogged by injuries throughout her career, was a realistic medal prospect for Athens.

However, a serious knee injury sustained at this year’s European Cup in Poland robbed her of the chance to compete for gold.

The reigning Commonwealth triple jump champion said: “If Jonathan Edwards can keep going for so long then so can I.

“I don’t see why I can’t go and win a medal in Beijing – anything’s possible.

“It’s not over yet and I’ve now got a new goal to aim for and a new target to train towards.”

Hansen admitted the injury was a massive blow, but refused to accept that her career was now over.

“It’s another process to go through and another learning curve but it will make me a much stronger person,” she said. “They say if it doesn’t kill you then it makes you stronger.

“I didn’t think the career was over but it’s just so frustrating. I have worked so hard to get where I was and I was in very good shape.

“I’m doing okay, I’m hobbling around and walking is getting easier. The injury is progressing a lot quicker than I thought and I’m getting around a bit better. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for.”

Hansen has had to battle domestic problems as well as injuries throughout her career but is philosophical about missing the trip to Athens.

She said: “It just wasn’t meant to be this time but these kind of things happen.

“Fortunately for me I’m okay, I’m still alive and that’s the main thing. You just have to get on with life.

“The first couple of weeks after the injury were hard but at least I didn’t do too much damage – I could have done a lot more than I actually did.”

Hansen confirmed she would still be travelling to Athens, giving her full support to the British team and trying to forget about her injury nightmare.

“It’s not hard for me at all, it’s quite fun and exciting actually,” said Hansen. “It’s nice to see all the athletes fit and raring to go and I will be out there watching them.

“I know they’ll all go out and deliver the goods. I think we can expect some fairly impressive performances in Athens.”