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You are in: Athletics: Features |  |
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Inside the mind of MLF | |
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Around the Academy: |
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A sprint race is usually won and lost before anyone has got anywhere near their starting blocks. Just ask Mark Lewis-Francis - Olympic gold medallist. He and his 4x100m team-mates stunned the critics and American runners to become champs for GB. It's all about mind games - so get inside the head of Mr Lewis-Francis.
I was just a kid when I studied the techniques of Linford Christie and Donovan Bailey to try and improve my running. My whole life is now based around athletics - physios, massages, gym work - everything I do is athletics! Sprinting is unbelievably competitive. It's like a battlefield out there on the track. I've learned to realise that it's all about mental strength and getting rid of all negative thoughts.
We still all talk to each other and eat at the same table but it does feel like a war sometimes. It's all about who you're beating, but that's what you're there to do. You've got to tell yourself it doesn't matter if you're racing somebody who's beaten you before.
It's all in the head! I can psyche out a less experienced athlete just by looking at them - it's mind games. I've seen Maurice Greene in the warm-up room trying to psyche everybody out. He psyched me out once and I wasn't ready to run. I'll never let him do that again.
Runners psyche you out by jumping up and down in your face and staring at you. There are always nerves, you might be shaking and thinking this is the biggest race of your life. You'll be thinking about all the people watching and that you're racing the world champ and world record holder. And then someone like Maurice jumps up and down and he's looking at you like you're nothing. But all this inspires me. All I can do is go out there and show everybody who Mark Lewis-Francis is.
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