What was the best moment of your career?
Winning the Olympic bronze medal in the 400m relay in Moscow in 1980 with Linsey Macdonald, Michelle Probert and Joslyn Hoyte-Smith. We finished behind the Soviet Union and East Germany, who dominated the 200m and 400m at that time. I was so pleased because I took the baton on the anchor leg in seventh position and managed to get us to the bronze, running the second- fastest split of everybody.
I hadn’t had a good season and had been injured so wasn’t in the best form to run in the individual 400m. We weren’t expecting anything when we were so far down in that kind of company, but my time was in the low 49sec.
The Eastern Bloc was so far ahead of us all through the 1970s. I don’t think the 400m world record of 47.6sec which Marita Koch achieved will ever be broken. You were aware they were medically treated but couldn’t prove anything. Everybody had sex tests and you had to carry a little card. You would sit waiting to go in for your test and there were huge Eastern Bloc women there who had facial hair. When I first saw Renate Stecher I thought she was in the wrong race. The times they were running were phenomenal. It was frustrating that when they were caught, they were reinstated so quickly. That was outrageous.
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What was your worst moment?
I had always been very kind to a certain 400m runner when she first came on the scene. She didn’t have proper running spikes and I gave her a pair and encouraged her. When I flew out to Moscow for the Olympics I went out about a week later than the others for the relay. I had not had a good season and it was a lonely time for me. Then I produced the goods and was over the moon. But this one girl, who I had been so kind to, ignored me and didn’t even congratulate me. I don’t want to name her because I don’t want her plastered all over the press. It was disappointing and awful for me to deal with.
What was your strength?
I was fast, fit and could mentally overcome the nerves and focus on the race. I have trained with others who could match me stride for stride but when it came to competing, they lost. They let nerves get the better of them.
What was your weakness?
I was not the best out of the blocks. My pick-up wasn’t terribly good or my first couple of strides. That’s why the 400m suited me because the start was less crucial than in the shorter sprints.
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Who was best athlete you ran against?
I had some great races with Irena Szewinska from Poland, who was such a lovely lady. In Britain, Verona Elder and I were always battling it out over 400m. Away from the Eastern Bloc there wasn’t anybody else, particularly if you could take them out of the equation. Although I always admired Raelene Boyle from Australia.
What was the best advice you were given?
Mike Smith was my coach and he taught me never to assume you were going to win, because the day you did that you would lose. There were a couple of occasions when I thought it was going to be a breeze and it wasn’t. Also, make sure you are fit. Your fitness is your weapon. I never missed training no matter what the weather.
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Which was your worst venue?
I competed for Great Britain in a match against Romania in the late 1970s. It was horrendous. The flight out was dreadful and the food was always lousy in the Eastern Bloc. They would give you a bowl of clear soup and then drop a raw egg into it. We mainly lived on Mars bars. I was in the 200m and there were pot holes on the track. The starting blocks were fixed and were the wrong way round for me, so I had to push off with my wrong foot.
Which do you rate as your best Olympics?
I went to three: Munich, Montreal and Moscow. For enjoyment, it was Munich in 1972. I was young and had never been to an Olympics. There were beauticians there and I had my eyebrows plucked for the first time; there was a 24-hour canteen with food from every nationality; the training facilities were incredible and mixing with all the athletes from different countries in the village was so exciting. Travelling with your uniform on, you’ve got your Great Britain badge on your suit as you are flying out. You felt so proud. But then the whole experience was ruined by the massacre of Israelis.