Lawal-Balogun Targets 2012 Olympics

British born Nigeria sprinter, Lawal-Balogun said he is aiming to make it to the 2012 London Olympic where he plan to achieve a lot.

Lawal, who has a personal best of 20.38 seconds and was the second fastest 200m sprinter in Britain in 2009, prefers to be acknowledged for his achievements on the track.

The 24-year-old from Bromley, south east London, said: “Next year’s 2012 and that’s what I want to focus on, being able to compete at the 2012 Games and win.”

The athletics World Championships, that will be taking place on August 27 in Daegu, South Korea, is one of the highlights in the 2011 sporting calendar.

However, Lawal will be using the championships as a form of preparation for the big one, next year’s Olympic Games in London.

“Every experience I’ve ever gone through I see as a stepping stone for the 2012 Games and I have to see it that way because as athletes we train to compete at the Olympic Games and that’s our main goal,” said Lawal

“Hopefully by 2012 I would’ve gained enough experience to compete with those guys (the American and Jamaicans) and push myself to where I’m confident enough to compete with them. I’ve done well so far but I want to keep pushing.”

Lawal, who first began competing aged 19, is a relative novice to the sport and took part in his first major senior athletics competition at last year’s European championships in Barcelona where he reached the semi-finals.

Together with the likes of Commonwealth Games gold medalist Leon Baptiste, Toby Sandeman and James Alaka, Lawal represents a new generation of half-lap sprinters who will eventually take over from experienced athletes. “They’re very good, I compete against those guys all the time and it’s always a battle,” explained Lawal.

“Sometimes they win, sometimes I win and it depends on who’s got their mind right at the time.

Coached by Olympic 4 x 100m relay silver medalist Clarence Callender, Lawal also has his goal set on being a regular member of the British relay squad, which has had mixed fortunes over the decade.

Nevertheless individual glory remains his priority.

“I see myself as a 200m runner but I also see myself as a relay member. As an athlete, you have to make it individually when it comes to your event and obviously become a team when it comes to the relay.

“We’ve got a lot of medals in the relays. We won the Olympics with Marlon and Mark Lewis-Francis so we’re very skilful when it comes to passing the baton. I believe that we could do something in the Olympic Games as well.”