Sanderson limbers up for sharp return

Tessa Sanderson went out for a short run yesterday morning - no more than a mile, but it felt like 10.

At 40, these things can happen. But Sanderson has made other things happen at 40 which are far from expected. Three and a half years after she ended her illustrious javelin career with a World Cup victory in Cuba, Sanderson is back in the Olym- pic frame after Saturday's hugely game performance at the International Games in Bedford.

Having secured the Olympic qualifying mark of 60 metres with her second throw of 60.64m, she might have been forgiven for calling a halt on what was a bitingly cold and wet day. That she went on to complete all six throws, breaking 60m on two further occasions, said everything about her love of an event at which she was Olympic champion in 1984 and three times Commonwealth champion.

"It had been so long since I had thrown, I just wanted to keep going," she said.

And so she will - onwards, almost certainly, to Atlanta for an unprecedented sixth Olympic appearance.

"I needed to get that buzz of competition again. I was pleased to have thrown so consistently well. It takes the pressure off," she said. "Now I can concentrate on improving my speed and technique, and come July I should be throwing 68 or 69m."

Her immediate target is the European Cup in Madrid at the start of June - the javelin place will be offered to her, and she is likely to accept it. Thereafter, she is seeking a place in the Oly-mpic final. "If I'm in as good a shape as I hope to be in, I will be looking towards a medal," she said. "Which one, I don't know."

Her training will run in tandem with her efforts for the charity Children in Hospital, for which she was persuaded to come out of retirement to raise a target of pounds 1 million in this Olympic year. Having played the fairy godmother in pantomime at Christmas, Sanderson is used to making wishes come true. She may be using an implement more unwieldy than a wand, but Saturday showed she has not forgotten how to make it work.

The 400 or so spectators who braved the elements in Bedford saw not one but two Olympic champions as Sally Gunnell took part in her first outdoor race since her two isolated and unhappy outings in Germany early last summer.

Her win in the 400m in a time of 52.96sec was entirely satisfac- tory given the weather, and it sends her on in good heart to next Saturday's meeting at Jena, where she will compete in her first 400m hurdles race since she won the 1994 World Cup event. The foot injury that forced her to take nearly two years off, eventually needing an operation, is no longer a cause of anxiety to her.