Pooley eyes Olympic medal after confidence-boosting 2014
BySportsbeat
Published 07/11/2014 at 15:21 GMT
Having equalled the British high jump record this season, Isobel Pooley admits her soaring confidence as well as performance levels have left her aiming high for Rio 2016.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Last year Pooley finished fourth at the European Under-23 Championships in Tampere, Finland, before improving her personal best to 1.91m a month later.
However she stepped things up another level in 2014, claiming her first senior medal with a silver after clearing 1.92m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer.
She was not done there though and three weeks later she posted yet another personal best height, clearing 1.96m at the high jump meeting in Eberstadt, Germany.
The mark equalled the UK record set indoors by Katarina Johnson-Thompson earlier in the year and took her to the top of the UK all-time list outdoors.
And, with next year's World Championships in Beijing on the horizon before Rio 2016, Pooley has more medals firmly on her mind.
"I always go in and do the best I can and maybe get in the mix for a medal and grab it if I get the chance," said Pooley, who trains with Fayyaz Ahmed.
"That was the approach I took at the Commonwealths and I'm absolutely delighted that it worked out.
"I'm not scared of the big stage anymore, I relish it. I reaped the rewards of all the hard work and devotion I have put in during the year
"Moving to train with Fuzz (Ahmed) has been the turning point in my career. He could see my potential but it was about me believing in myself to reach those levels.
"I have a tangible aim to win an Olympic medal � that is something I would never have dared to voice before this summer.
"Confidence is not something you stumble across � it is something you work hard to earn. He has the expertise to get me there, 100%."
� Sportsbeat 2014
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