![]() I have to take this a little bit more seriously. "I thought I'd reached my limit, but I seem to have found a new gear," she said then. When we spoke there, she could feel things clicking into place. The Scot, whose mother makes kilts, was well on the way to that transformation a year ago at the Olympic test event in Greenwich Park. What she's done in the past 18 months - her individual effort, her nutrition programme, sports psychology - this is the dream outcome of that effort." "This is what we live for, this transformation of her as a person and athlete. "Since Mhairi joined us in Bath, it's always been: is she going to make it? Will she become a top-class athlete?" Bartu recalls. In his wildest dreams? He shakes his head. He holds up his mobile phone to video the medal ceremony, as though the recording will make this more believable. Jan Bartu, Britain's performance director, has seen their stories evolve. Now, they're high-fiving on a world championship podium. ![]() Murray was kicked off the development programme - "she couldn't cope," her coaches say - but refused to let that be the last word. ![]() Spence missed the Beijing Olympics and, as recently as 2010, wasn't even in the World Championships team. Spence and Murray have been eaten up by their sport in the past, spat out, told they couldn't cut it. These successes stunned the British team and vindicated both athletes. Somehow, team-mate Samantha Murray - capping an explosive surge up pentathlon's ranks in the last 12 months - won the bronze medal, booking her own ticket to London 2012. Somehow, Spence held off everyone to cross the line first. Heading into the day's grand finale, a combination of running and shooting to decide the winner, France's Amelie Caze held a whopping 37-second head start over third-placed Spence. The current crop of Brits is a good one, but other nations are strong. Realistically, nobody thought that likely. Getting into such a high-quality Olympic team is incredibly difficult because, with just two GB places available, a medal at these World Championships was the only sure way to do it. Since then Team GB has picked up medals at both Athens and Beijing. Women's modern pentathlon became an Olympic sport at Sydney 2000, where Steph Cook won gold for Britain. Mhairi Spence's wild world title celebration If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content. In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. "It's so cheesy, but it's true." With that, she collapses into the arms of the British performance director. My dream has come true." She gulps back sobs. "I'm going to the Olympic Games! I can't believe it, I can't. Hauled off the floor by wide-eyed coaching staff, she is dragged, gurgling with "Oh-my-God" ecstasy, past a crowd of well-wishers until she finds some open space and words break through. Her emotions sit squarely on the surface even at the quietest of times but here in Italy, moments ago, she has won a world title and nobody needs to ask, "How do you feel?" Spence, 26, should top your list of athletes you'd pick to cross a finish line first. In a field outside Rome, after years of frustration, perspiration and pure hope on the fringes of the Olympic movement, she has taken a giant step towards her ultimate dream: a puppy named Donald. Mhairi Spence is drunk with elation, giddily staggering through admiring embraces, letting out cries of disbelief.
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