Special one Montell can lead sprint revolution

What the Blackheath & Bromley AC athlete had done was to convince herself that she could now reach the Olympic final. "And once there, anything can happen," she said. "Even a medal."

More than that, though, she fancied she might just be leading a revolution in British women's sprinting.

"My mindset changed after I saw the clock at Loughborough. I came off thinking, 'I can run sub-11sec.' The race for us is on now," she said, musing on the challenge provided by national champion Jeanette Kwakye and others.

"What I've done will spur everyone on, just like when the four-minute mile was broken. It opened the floodgates and everyone did it.

"I could be a kind of Roger Bannister of British women's sprinting. I led and everyone followed. It would be brilliant."

So, given a warm day, a cheering crowd, and a hot field, how about Crystal Palace on Saturday for history to be made at the Aviva London Grand Prix, where Douglas and Kwakye will be facing, among others, world No1 Torri Edwards, of the United States, Jamaica's 100m world champion Veronica Campbell and 200m world champ Allyson Felix?

"I hope it'll be the day I get pushed to another new high," said Douglas.

The Brunel University student, who graduated with a BSc in sports science on the day after her record race, will be one of the faces of the future for UK Athletics, along with her best friend Marilyn Okoro, the national 800m champion with whom she shares a flat in Buckhurst Hill. "I do feel I have it in me to be a star," said Douglas, whose infectious enthusiasm sees her natter almost as quickly as she sprints.

"I've always had that faith in my head that I'd do something special with my life, although I didn't know what it would be.

"I saw myself as a performer; dancing was always a passion but track comes first; it's my heart and soul.

"I don't see any point on putting limits on what I can achieve. Like my mum's always told me, 'Go for your dreams'."