Commonwealth Games: Hamblin goes looking for another silver lining

Nikki Hamblin is back. Photo / Greg Bowker

Just briefly, all the pain and anguish she had endured came into sharp focus for Nikki Hamblin yesterday.

The middle distance runner was talking about her injury-riddled last four years. Did she ever contemplate packing athletics in, was the gist of the question.

All went well for a few seconds, as she spoke of more challenges in front of her.

"I don't see myself as a quitter," she said, before breaking down. Cameras clicked at a blurring speed, as they do on these occasions.

But if you wanted an eloquent answer, this was an occasion when no words were needed.

In Delhi in 2010, Hamblin achieved a surprise double of silver medals in the 800m and 1500m, only the second New Zealand woman after Lorraine Moller in 1982 to pull off two Commonwealth Games medals on the track.

The London Olympics beckoned. She would test herself on the biggest stage.

Then she suffered heel pain, eventually determined to be bone spurs. She tried to manage the injuries, knowing if she had surgery she would not be ready for London.

"But it just didn't happen. I couldn't run," she recalled.

Then came the torn Achilles and "you don't mess with that at 24". She farewelled an annus horriblis of 2012 with surgery and it was six months before Hamblin took her first running steps. She had bettered the Olympic qualifying standard, which only enhanced the hurt.

Through all the despair, she must have harboured negative thoughts that, maybe, the fates would conspire and that would be her lot.

"Fleetingly, you get those thoughts but you just have to keep going," she said. "It's what I love doing and I'm so privileged and lucky to be able to do it.

"You have a small window in your life when you're an athlete.

"There's no better feeling than standing on the start line knowing you've done everything you can to get there and know you can put your best out there."

Now the 26-year-old is back and lining up in both distances. She still reflects on Delhi though her main focus is more immediate.

"Totally special," she remembered. "It was awesome to have those medals but I don't know where they are, under my bed or in a cupboard somewhere.

"It's not about something to hold onto. It's that special feeling that you've done everything you can and it's come off and you have complete trust in what you do and are able to deliver."

The 1500m final is on Wednesday morning (NZT). The 800m heats start the following day, with the final on Saturday morning (NZT).

Athletics New Zealand high performance boss Scott Goodman rates Hamblin a "genuine medal chance" in the 1500m.

"She'll be right in the mix," he said. "In the 800m she still probably doesn't have the speed of four years ago, but she's in really good shape."

What's undeniable is there is a determined streak about Hamblin. After all, she has some catching up to do.