At the age of 30, the Latvian-born athlete who now trains in Moscow, where she lives with her husband, the Russian international ice hockey player Petr Schastlivy, and their son Mark, has a deep understanding of how fleeting, and how precious, the opportunity to compete in elite track and field is.

In 2010, a year after giving birth to her son, she produced the performance of her career to date in securing the European title in Barcelona with a personal best leap of 6.92 metres.

And she is determined to seek another gold at the European Athletics Championships which run from next Wednesday (June 27) until July 1.


"There was never any doubt about me defending my title in Helsinki," said Radēviča, whose performance in Barcelona made her the first Latvian woman to win a European title.

"I am not one of these people who says: 'I am not going into the office today.'

"Where I train in Russia not all of the athletes are sure about competing at the Europeans in Olympic year.

"But I don't have trials so it is easier for me.

"My coach Yevgeny Ter-Avanesov always tells me I am a championship athlete, and I think he is right.

"The Diamond League is great, but for me the important thing is to be ready for the big championships."

The European arena is the one where Radēviča has enjoyed her most profitable athletic experiences.

She was a bronze medallist in both the triple and long jump at the 2003 European Under-23 Championships and finished fifth in the long jump at the 2005 European Indoor Championships before her triumph in Barcelona.


And she is hoping that further success in Helsinki will springboard her towards her first appearance in a final at the Olympics – the last of which, in 2008, she watched on television while pregnant.

Being a mother, she says, has deepened her appreciation of athletics – and also ensures she trains at maximum intensity.

From the age of one, she was accustomed to playing in the sand of a jumping pit while her mother – who later acted as her early coach – practised on the track in their home town of Kraslovska, Latvia.

But as a mother she has not adopted a similar approach; Mark stays away from the pit and is looked after at home. As she trains, however, she is acutely aware that it is time spent away from her child.


"It makes me realise that I need to make the most out of every minute while I am working," she said.

"Every minute spent training is time away from my son, so I work to ensure it is worth it.

"It also helps me to achieve more in my career – and one day he will be able to see what I was working for.

"The competition in Barcelona was amazing," Radēviča said.

"To this day I have not found the correct words to describe my emotions.

"But my coach says that the biggest mistake an athlete can make is living in the past.

"The gold medal will always bring great memories but I still enjoy the life today, this exact moment, and plan the future, hoping for the best at the London 2012 Olympics."

Asked to clarify the comment of her coach, she added: "He meant that no athlete can afford to rest on their former glories.

"You have to look to the next competition always."

And so Radēviča looks towards the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki.

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