Meadows leading a double life at World Indoors in Doha

From David Jordan, Sportsbeat, in Doha

 JENNY Meadows will be living a double life this weekend as she bids to combine her new-found celebrity status with her pursuit of World Indoor Athletics Championship gold.

DOUBLE LIFE: Jenny Meadows to combine celebritiy status with pursuit of 800m gold in Doha (Getty Images)

The 28-year-old World Championship bronze medallist will go in search of her latest international honours in the 800m in Doha on Sunday.

Just 24 hours earlier the Wigan and District Harrier will complete a lifetime ambition when her ‘A Question of Sport' debut alongside Sue Barker, Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell will be aired on BBC One.

And Meadows, who is a genuine London 2012 Olympic medal hopeful, admits the invitation to star on the show she watched as a kid is another indication of her rising status in the sporting world.

"I was so nervous when I was filming the programme," said Meadows, who filmed the show in early February.

"It was all surreal, especially when I got introduced as a British medallist; it was all a little strange.

"But it is another feather in my cap and it has always been a huge ambition of mine to be on it.

"We filmed it between my runs in Glasgow and Moscow. I was more petrified by that than by the races I have been in this year.

"The thing about my races is that they are what I practice for but this was something I was out of my comfort zone for.

"I have watched it ever since I was very young so it was great to actually be on there.

"It is going to be screened when I'm in Doha but I'm really hopeful that my mum or my brother will be taping it for me.

"I think I did OK but I'll probably be quite nervous watching it again just to see if I did well."

Meadows sealed her place on the plane to Qatar by clocking 2:00.91 seconds to smash the stadium record at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield last month.

And after being confirmed as captain of the 37-strong team for Doha, the 2008 Olympic semi-finalist vowed to set the tone for Great Britain's medal charge.

"It is a massive honour to be the team captain," added Meadows, who broke Dame Kelly Holmes' seven year old British indoor record in Birmingham last month.

"It's my fifth world indoors and I have been captained by a number of great athletes over the years so I can't quite believe I'm the team captain.

"It's an example of my progress and it is a continuation of what I did last summer to be captain now and hopefully I can lead by example.

"The team captain has never let the team down in the past and hopefully I can do the same.

"There is a bit more pressure on me now but I've made a good start to the season, I ran in Moscow in what was a tactical race and then I ran at the UK Championships and that went really well so I can't complain.

"I have been doing my research into the event and the stats just show it is going to be so competitive.

"I think there are eight world class girls there and really you can't discredit anyone who gets out of the heats.

"Maybe at the semi-final stage I'll have a better idea what shape people are in but really it is going to be very competitive."

Aviva has been proud to have helped and supported the Aviva GB & NI junior, senior and disability teams as they prepare for all major events and championships since 1999. Visit www.aviva.co.uk/athletics for more information