Fowler will not feel the pressure in Vancouver

Posted: Wednesday 4th March 2009 | 19:18

BIATHLON hopeful Emma Fowler insists she won't be crushed by the weight of expectation at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics after admitting she froze on the big stage three years ago.

Fowler will not let the pressure get to her in Vancouver
SEASONED PROFESSIONAL: Great Britain's Emma Fowler in action at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin

The 29-year-old created history at the 2006 Turin Olympics when she became the first woman to represent Britain in the Biathlon event, finishing a disappointing 78th in the 15km race and 67th in the 7.5km sprint.

The former Chiltern Trinity School pupil - who served in the army in Iraq in 2003 - has struggled for form in recent months and ended the season with two lowly finishes at the World Championships in Pyeong Chang, South Korea.

But Fowler insists she will be better prepared for her second Olympic Games next year and is praying her previous experience will hold her in good stead in Canada.

"The Turin Games was a massive experience for me," said Fowler. "But I know for sure if I go back next year I will be a completely different athlete.

"I was so nervous last time with my family there and because I was making history.

"I didn't do myself justice because I was so concerned with how big the event was and I didn't really cope very well.

"I was so overawed by the whole experience and everything that goes with an Olympics that I couldn't really concentrate on what I was supposed to be there for.

"But this time round will be different, I will know what to expect."

Fowler - who competed in her first biathlon event in Oberhof, Germany in 1998 - will now head to a summer training camp in Ruhpolding, Germany to step up her preparations for the Vancouver Olympics.

And after finishing 79th in the 7.5km sprint and 83rd in the 15km individual event at the World Championships this month Fowler - who is trained by former Olympic bronze medallist Walter Pichler - insists the best is yet to come.

"After a summer of strength work, I can be racing even better next year," she added. "I've realised this season that what I did was no way near enough so if I step it up over the summer then I know I'll be stronger for next year.

"I've been involved in the sport a long time now so I am quite experienced and I am confident I can make the qualification demands next year and make my second Olympic Games."