SARAH LAVIN says it is coach Noelle Morrissey who cracks the whip as she aims to be first past the post.
Lavin is hoping for a medal at the European Championships which start in Rome next Thursday.
And the 100m hurdler claims she is just following her coach’s orders as she keeps the blinkers on for what could be a big summer.
Lavin said: “I’ve been following what Noelle has been saying up to now. That’s what you do as an athlete. You’re the horse and she’s the trainer.
“I have always performed well at championships. I am a championship performer.
“But I think it’s a case that Noelle is on the reins with the decision-making and I’m happy that she is. I have full faith in her.”
Lavin turned 30 on Tuesday but reckons there is plenty in the tank as she prepares for the European Championships and Olympic Games.
She said: “I’m running faster than I ever have and there’s a lot of women that are 36 who are now Olympic champions and medallists.
“Sport science has come a long way in the last 20 years and I think we’re well able to recover.
“Every athlete and every human is different and it’s very different if you’ve maybe come through a career and had huge success from 19 to 29, ten years straight.
“I had success when I was 19 and then didn’t get it back until three years ago so I can’t say age is playing on my mind at all.
“I know what condition I’m in and the most important thing is staying healthy and fit and putting together the training blocks. That’s what produces good performances.”
And she believes the timetable for both major championships this summer will be to her advantage.
She said: “I’m very fortunate with the programming that the hurdles is on the first day and second day in Rome.
“And it’s not until the last days in Paris so I have two months between the Championships which is good. I get to skip the heat as I am ranked in the top 12.
“I’ll go straight into the semi-final and I need a clean race and to get a lane in the final.”
A medal is her ambition and is well within her reach after a strong indoor season.
The Limerick native also recorded a personal best of 12.73 in her first outdoor race of the year.
There was a fall during her second outing in Doha but she said: “It was a bit of a nasty one but I think the face took the brunt of it and it’s nothing that a bit of make-up and concealer can’t cover at this point!
“If I could have picked something to take the brunt it would have been the face. I raced a few days later.
“Even though the fall didn’t happen over the hurdles you just need to get back on to the horse as soon as possible. It was good to get through that.
“To throw out an Olympic standard on your opener is fairly impressive and it enabled us to be able to train and pick our competitions.”
She reckons she will have to lower her time into under 12.60 to medal and said: “Two different Europeans have won the last two Diamond Leagues and another has a third.
“That’s what I’m being compared against and that’s what I’m up against next week.
“It’s going to require a really, really big performance as always.
“But first things first, you can’t get ahead of yourself.
“You must go into that semi to earn your place in the final.
“And from there, I’ve been in a good few finals now at this point.
“And I’m now looking to convert the fives, sixes and sevens to the other end of the top three.”