Why Christine Ohuruogu will never be fully loved by the British public

The Brit lunged past favourite Amantle Montsho on the line to take 400m gold and reclaim the world crown she won in Osaka six years ago.

Ohuruogu’s knack of only producing sub-50 second runs in major championships is unrivalled and she is undoubtedly one of the greatest tacticians currently operating in world athletics.

Yet for many she will never be up there with British heroes Dame Kelly Holmes, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Sally Gunnell - or mentioned in the same breath as Paula Radcliffe, Tessa Sanderson and Denise Lewis - despite her two world titles, Olympic gold and silver medals and a national record to boot.

And she doesn’t deserve to be either.

The problem stems from 2006 when Ohuruogu was suspended from competing for missing three out-of-competition drugs tests. It was a massive blow to British athletics, more so as she was being touted as a potential face of the London games.

To her credit she immediately apologised but insisted she was guilty of nothing more than not informing the testers of when she moved training venue.

Ohuruogu was cleared twice by drugs testers either side of her third missed test and three independent inquiries concluded “forgetfulness” was behind her mistake. But every other athlete adhered to the strict rules by practically having their life governed by the doping whereabouts scheme.

Just because Ohuruogu’s story appears to add up doesn’t mean we should necessarily excuse her and blindly celebrate her success.

She returned from her year out to win gold at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka before following it up with success in Beijing after overturning her lifetime Olympic ban.

And although she couldn’t quite close down America’s Sanya Richards-Ross at London 2012, this week she reaffirmed herself on the world stage with a stunning run in Moscow.

But the mistakes of her younger self leave a cloud of doubt hanging over her. It shouldn’t matter that she was banned before her international success; the fact is she fell foul of the drugs laws and if the sport wants credibility they must acknowledge as much – however harsh it seems.

Athletics is teetering on the edge after the revelations surrounding Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell and although the World Championships have shifted attention back to the track, it won’t be long before doping becomes the sport’s hot topic again.

It’s a disservice to the hard-working athletes who continue to be tested that her negligence, or worse, is allowed to be ignored and the worldwide audience has every right to view Ohuruogu with uncertainty after the events of seven years ago.

Anyone can miss a drugs test through complacency but missing three should rightly raise suspicion otherwise it renders the whole system redundant. It was Ohuruogu’s responsibility to ensure the drug testers were informed of her whereabouts and she must suffer the consequences now she’s a global star.

It’s the classic doping cliché, but if Britain celebrated her achievements akin to how they reacted to Jess Ennis-Hill’s London triumph then it sends out the wrong message to the youngsters of ‘Inspire a Generation’.

Regardless of whether Ohurougu cheated or not - and she is adamant she did not - it was her responsibility to take the tests and she must face up to that.

Yes, what she has achieved is remarkable and may never be repeated by a British athlete, but if we are to class her career in the same bracket as Holmes, Ennis and Gunnell then it devalues the entire sport.