Running News Daily

Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu shares her secret weapon for athletic excellence

Olympic legend Christine Ohuruogu has attributed her athletic success and gold medal glory to a diet rich in meat and dairy. The track icon celebrated her unique pre-race routine with a glass of milk, singing praises of its role in her dietary plan.

Ohuruogu discussed the importance of milk in her diet, particularly for its natural calcium, which she found essential. The MBE awardee said: "As an athlete, I needed healthy bones, muscles, and nerves - but also something which gives me that spark of energy."

She lauded British milk for being packed with crucial nutrients, saying: "British milk contains essential nutrients like calcium that is important for bone health, as well as protein which supports muscle growth, making it ideal for performance."

Advocating for natural food sources over supplements, she continued: "Milk is often overlooked - and people tend to reach for supplements, but I believe in a natural diet and keeping it clean and simple."

Ohuruogu made these remarks while backing the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board's (AHDB) campaign to promote the link between sporting achievements and the intake of British dairy and red meat.

In a bold campaign gesture, Ohuruogu has been portrayed in full gold alongside four rising Team GB stars.

It comes as Brits who hit the gym three times a week are increasingly opting for milk, chosen by 39% as a vitamin-rich option, over nutritional supplements at 36%.

Vwaire Obukohwo, Team GB's rowing sensation and face of AHDB's latest campaign, has opened up about her own dietary journey, saying: "Before starting sport I restricted meat and dairy from my diet."

She revealed the struggle that followed: "As I became more competitive, I struggled not having enough energy to complete training and improve my performance."

"Talks with doctors and nutritionists uncovered that I had multiple deficiencies and lacked enough protein to keep up with the high training demands."

She decided: "I could either take supplements - which come with risks of cross contamination with banned substances, can have poor bio availability and are more expensive - or change my diet."

Ultimately, she found success by adjusting her intake: "It was best to re-introduce meat and dairy into my diet which gave me the nutrition I needed to flourish and excel as a high-performance athlete."

AHDB's lead nutritionist Kate Arthur also weighed in on the benefits of dairy, stating: "Milk is naturally rich in high-quality protein, making it an affordable alternative to supplementary protein powders and shakes."

She highlighted its importance for athletes: "Protein supports the growth and maintenance of muscles. It also contains potassium, which helps muscles to work normally."

British sprints coach Lloyd Cowan died at the age of 58

During his 20-year coaching career, Cowan guided many leading British sprinters, including 2008 Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, 2010 European 110m hurdles champion Andy Turner and his son Dwayne Cowan, part of Britain’s bronze medal-winning 4x400m quartet at the 2017 World Championships.

A talented athlete in his own right, Cowan was selected for the 1984 Olympics in the 110m hurdles but was unable to take his place on the team due to illness. Ten years later, he represented England at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria and narrowly missed out on making the final.

After retiring from competitive athletics in his late 30s, he moved into coaching and soon made a name for himself as one of the leading sprints coaches in the UK.

Ohuruogu was one of Cowan’s first major successes. She won the Commonwealth title in 2006, world titles in 2007 and 2013, and the Olympic title in 2008.

Turner, under Cowan’s guidance, also became a frequent medallist at major championships. He won European bronze in 2006, European gold in 2010 and world bronze in 2011.

Cowan also coached several national champions and international relay medallists, including European 4x100m champion Bianca Williams, 2008 Olympic 100m hurdles finalist Sarah Claxton, 2012 world indoor 4x400m champion Shana Cox, 2009 world 4x100m bronze medallist Simeon Williamson, European indoor 4x400m silver medallist Amber Anning, and sub-10-second 100m sprinter James Dasaolu.

In 2013 Cowan was appointed lead sprints coach at UK Athletics. Later that year, he was awarded the prestigious Ron Pickering Memorial Award for Services to Athletics, and in 2015 he was appointed MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire).

But it was the success of his son, Dwayne, which made Cowan most proud. A relative latecomer to the sport, Dwayne established himself as one of the top 400m runners in the UK in 2017. He won the 400m at the European Team Championships, clocked a PB of 45.34, and reached the semifinals at the World Championships in London before helping Britain to bronze in the 4x400m, recording the team’s fastest split (44.2).

“There will never be another Lloyd Cowan,” said Turner. “He knew me better than anyone. We had some amazing times and even better stories along the way. He made such a huge impact on my life. I owe him everything. I hope he realised how many lives he changed and how loved he was.”

World 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith paid tribute to the larger-than-life character. “Rest in power, Lloyd,” she said. “He was one of the pillars of our community and always had words of calm, wisdom and care for everyone. He knew when to make you laugh, when to be serious and most of all knew how to make you believe in yourself.”

“A really sad start to the athletics year,” added World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “He was a great coach, mentor and teammate. A massive loss to the sport.”