Britain's Dasaolu looking to be able to finally prove himself

One of Europe's most promising sprinters, Great Britain's James Dasaolu, is hoping to put the bad times behind him and show not only his friends and family but the rest of the world what he is capable of next summer at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Dasaolu clocked 10.11 for the 100m in Geneva at the end of May to rank sixth in Europe for the event in 2011. However, he only had one more competition this summer as, for the second time in three years, an ill-timed hamstring injury brought his season prematurely to an end.

"It's the same thing (as in 2009), but it's more complicated this time. I was ranked number two in Britain after the first run of the year. I was in good shape and had a really big setback,” reflected Dasaolu, who was forced to miss the World Championships this summer.

“Because of the nature of my injury I've had to almost do nothing and just relax. I've been unable to do anything. It was frustrating to miss out on the whole season but I've dealt with it now and come to accept it," added the 24-year-old Londoner who is a full-time athlete and based at the Loughborough High Performance Centre.

"I'm just starting to load my injured area up," said Dasaolu, who is hoping to be able to put his spikes on next month.

A late start in athletics, concentrating on his studies until he was 18, Dasaolu came to international attention in 2009 when he ran 10.09.

Last year, he missed out by one place and six-hundredths of a second on a berth in the European Athletics Championships 100m final when he finished third in his semi-final.

Spurring him on the road to recovery is the prospect of making the British team for a major championship next summer, especially the Olympics. “I grew up in South London so it means a lot to me. Your family and friends can come and see you compete at an Olympic Games, plus there’s the buzz and atmosphere concerning the Games being in London.”