Cindy Ofili eyes future success after lengthy injury setback
BySportsbeat
Updated 28/09/2017 at 12:59 GMT
From Rio breakthrough to injury nightmare, the last 12 months have posed the greatest of challenges for British hurdler Cindy Ofili.
Cindy Ofili
Image credit: Getty Images
The 23-year-old came of age at last year's Olympic Games, finishing fourth in the final of the women's 100m hurdles with the second quickest time of her career.
Since then, Ofili has completed her degree at the University of Michigan but cut short her indoor season, before disaster struck in June when she suffered a ruptured Achilles.
But having endured two months of complete rest, Ofili is slowing building up her strength in rehab, and knows this is only a slight stumble in a career heading in the right direction.
"It was frustrating at first. I was already dealing with the pressure of the transition from college to pro athlete," she said.
"Everything seemed a little difficult and then on top of that two injuries in the season was not a pleasing place to be - I was very upset and not in a good place.
"It's a long process but I am definitely healing a lot quicker than anticipated.
"It is one of those injuries that takes time.
"I know I am going to be a new and improved athlete because of all the things I am working on and improving.
"I am looking at it in a positive way and I know that one day I will be back to where I want to be."
Ofili, the younger sister of fellow hurdler Tiffany Porter, missed out on the bronze medal by just two hundredths of a second on her Olympic debut in Rio.
She admits her near miss was a hard pill to swallow, but she's only too confident that success is heading her way in the not so distant future.
"Rio was a bittersweet moment," Ofili said.
"It was hard to just miss a medal but at the same time it showed me what I am capable of and showed I had the potential to compete against the best in the world.
"There is no doubt in my mind that I am at the point where I am capable of competing at the highest level."
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement