Lorraine Ugen begins Olympic countdown aiming for European medal

Britain’s world leader is expected to challenge for long jump gold.

Great Britain’s Lorraine Ugen has started her Olympic countdown as she targets a first senior title.

The 26-year-old is one of the favourites for long jump gold at the European Championships in Berlin, with the athletics starting on Monday.

Ugen is GB’s only world leader going into the Championships having jumped 7.05m at the trials in July.

Muller British Athletics Championships – Day Two – Alexander Stadium — Great Britain’s Lorraine Ugen is the long jump world leader this year (David Davies/PA)

European Indoor champion Ivana Spanovic – who beat Ugen to gold in Belgrade last year – is six centimetres behind.

And with the Tokyo Olympics two years away Ugen wants to set a marker in Berlin.

She told Press Association Sport: “It’s the opportunity to get my first senior medal and that will hopefully propel me to try to do the same thing at the World Championships next year.

“Having two back-to-back years of, hopefully, getting on the podium will help me to do the same thing in Tokyo at the Olympics.

“Going into the next couple of years that is the goal, to get those outdoor medals.

“Yes, I’m world leader but there are still world class girls who are competing in Europe so I’m not going to put pressure on myself to say I’m going to be disappointed if I don’t come away with gold.

“I’m going to be disappointed if I don’t win a medal but what colour depends on the day.”

Ugen won gold in the 4x100m relay at the Commonwealth Games in April after being drafted in as a last-minute replacement for the injured Corinne Humphreys.

2018 Commonwealth Games – Day Ten — England’s Asha Philip, left, and Ugen celebrate winning Commonwealth gold in the women’s 4x100m relay final (Martin Rickett/PA)

It came after she finished fourth in the long jump but London-born Ugen dismissed suggestions she is under pressure to bag a maiden individual title.

“I don’t know if I would say a relief. There would still be celebration but I’m not one to ever hang a medal around my neck before I’ve got it,” she said, ahead of Thursday’s long jump qualifying round and Saturday’s final.

“A relief would suggest I’ve put pressure on myself and stress on myself. I’m going in the competition optimistic like ‘let’s enjoy this, let’s get this goal and then celebrate it’.”

Saturday also marked exactly six years since Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford won gold medals inside 45 minutes at London 2012.

2018 Muller Anniversary Games – Day Two – Queen Elizabeth Stadium — Great Britain’s Greg Rutherford will retire this summer (Paul Harding/PA)

Rutherford, missing in Berlin, will retire at the end of the month after a battle against injury having won the last two European long jump titles but Ugen insisted she is not a ready-made replacement.

She said: “I aspire to create my own legacy rather than trying to fall behind someone else.

“Whatever comes off the back of that – whether it’s me filling his shoes in a sense – then great. I can’t predict how I’ll be received but I just aspire to win as many medals as possible.”