Sotherton's cycling idea

Sotherton, who won bronze at Athens 2004, called time on her heptathlon career last year stating she would focus on the 400m as two years of injury took their toll.

Since a disappointing fifth-place finish at Beijing 2008 (bumped up to fourth after the disqualification of Lyudmila Blonska) Sotherton has been plagued by back and heel injuries, and after taking part in the 4x400m relay in the Chinese capital, the 34-year-old decided it is where her future lies.

But Sotherton admitted the 400m was not the only option available to her when looking for pastures new - and cited Olympic cycling gold medallist and former rower Rebecca Romero as the example to follow.

"I had to make a very difficult decision last summer and so I chose to go to 400m rather than to quit," said Sotherton. "It was not the sport I considered at first but after a while I decided it was the best challenge and I think it has rejuvenated my career.

"I did a lot of cross-training and I had done quite a lot of static cycling which was quite good and so at first I was considering giving track cycling a go.

"That would have been a very good challenge. I’ve never been in a velodrome so it’s hard to say how that would have gone but it was a serious consideration for me. I could have been the next Rebecca Romero.

"It was not a whim. It was something that I really thought about and I was given the opportunity to pursue it and if I could not have done athletics then it was a realistic option."

But Sotherton, who once again reiterated her views about the future of the Olympic Stadium, admitted her heart was stuck on staying in athletics.

"I decided that athletics was my sport," she added.

"It was in my blood and so I needed to find an event that I was good at."