The Saturday Interview - Andy Neild talks to Commonwealth Games athlete Jason Lobo

CAST your minds back to the time when Ronald Reagan became the 40th President of the United States.

Swedish band Abba topped the charts with 'The Winner Takes It All'.

Richard O'Sullivan was the king of comedy in 'Robin's Nest' and 'Man About the House'.

And Seb Coe and Steve Ovett battled it out for Olympic supremacy in the 800 and 1500 metres in Moscow.

The year was 1980.

Jason Lobo was an awe-struck 11 year old who watched in wonder on his TV set as Britain's premier Olympians fought out their thrilling duel on the track.

It was that one moment in history which inspired the former Blackburn Harrier to take up Athletics.

And now he stands on the threshold of emulating his heroes when he competes for England in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur later this month.

"Just to compete in the Commonwealth Games is amazing," said the 28-year-old.

"I'm now filling the space on the team-sheet where the names of Coe, Ovett and Cram would have been in the past.

"But I suppose it has already happened in a way before.

"When I won the AAA 800 metres title earlier this year it had all the previous winners names engraved on it.

"I looked down and saw the likes of Tom McKean, Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Steve Cram and it even stretched as far back as the likes of Roger Bannister.

"It was nice.

"And no matter what happens to me from now my name will always be there."

Lobo found out he had been called up to the England team for Malaysia when he read it on Teletext.

But Olympic and Commonwealth Games glory always seemed to be his destiny from the age of 15.

He stormed onto the scene when he broke the British age record in the 1500 metres.

"Obviously, at that stage it made me the fastest 15-year-old this country had ever had. "And I was achieving things like that off only two or three training sessions a week.

"But that success has probably been my worst enemy over the years.

"If I hadn't been so successful so early then I probably would have trained harder and got better.

"But because it was all coming to me pretty easily I didn't have the motivation.

"You ask yourself why you need to bother doing any more."

For one reason or another, appearances in the big athletic events did not follow.

He was struck down by injuries at crucial times and a career in the police made it difficult to find time for training.

But a change from being a bobby on the beat in Haslingden to more regular hours in the custody office at Rawtenstall has provided more time to focus on athletics in the last 12 months.

His performance at the Amateur Athletics Association Championships proved he was back in the groove.

And his call-up for Kuala Lumpur was the fulfilment of a dream, although he missed out on glory at the European Championships in Budapest when he narrowly missed out on a place in the Great Britain squad.

"I've put more pressure on myself this year.

"I'm 28-years-old now and I've been on the verge of doing things in athletics for quite a number of years.

"The Commonwealth Games were probably the easier to get into with it being an England team and not a Great Britain team I had to qualify for.

"I had certain aims and targets when I began the season and to make the Commonwealth team was my number one goal.

"If I'd gone to the Europeans then that would have been a bonus.

"I know a lot of the athletes in this country would say that that is the main competition. "And for most events that is probably true.

"But for the middle distance athletes the Commonwealths are probably bigger because you've obviously got the Kenyans and the African Nations competing and they are the best in the world so the competition will be a lot tougher."

But it is not just the Kenyans who pose a threat to his chances of gold.

The climate in Kuala Lumpur will be just as challenging.

Temperatures can range from 25-32 degrees and humidity can get up to 90 per cent.

The athletes who acclimatise quickest will have a vital advantage.

"We have been given a bit of information by the Commonwealth Games Council on how to adjust to the climate.

"They sent some athletes out there this time last year to compete in certain events and they carried out tests on them.

"They have come up with a figure as to how many days we need to go out there in advance to get used to the conditions."

With his opening race just two weeks away Lobo has started to scale down training.

Missing out on a palce in Budapest gave him extra time to work on his strength.

The next fortnight will be spent concentrating on building up his speed.

The heats take place on September 17th and the following day - ironically his birthday - he will be hoping to make it through the semis to the final.

"I'm not anticipating the first round being too much of a challenge the way I've been running this year," said Lobo.

"The main race for me will be the semi final. And if I can get through that then who know's what could happen in the final?"

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