STANDING on the start line in Athens in 2004, Hucknall's Andy Turner admits he felt totally out of place.

One glance upwards, seeing the flame of the Olympic touch shining brightly, the then 23-year-old was a bag of nerves.

The biggest stage he had performed on at that point was the national championships back home but, all of a sudden, he had been catapulted onto the biggest stage on earth.

"Athens was my first ever championship," he said. "I was thrown in at the deep end at the Olympics.

"When you watch Cool Runnings and you see four guys who have no business to be at the Olympics, it was like that."

He was referring, of course, to the 1993 comedy film where four Jamaican sprinters end up at the Winter Olympics, taking part in the bobsled.

"I looked up and saw the Olympic flame and thought 'wow'. When I was on the start line I thought 'I am at an Olympics right now, on the track'. It did not go well."

It was understandable for a young man, a product of Notts AC, to be feeling so overwhelmed as he exited in the heats of the 110m hurdles.

However, he was to build on that experience as he stormed to bronze at both the Commonwealth Games in Australia and at the European Championships in Gothenburg in 2006.

But disappointment was to strike at his next Olympics too.

Turner exited early in Beijing in 2008, a year in which he was dogged by a hamstring problem, and, soon after, he was stripped of his National Lottery funding.

It was a crushing blow for the hurdler, who moved south to Surrey to train over a decade ago, and he felt the decision was unjust. Nevertheless, his appeal was also rejected.

What he was being told by UK Athletics was that they felt he was too old – incapable of making a world championship final. But with the backing of his family, who still live in Hucknall, the game was far from over.

His resurgence in form saw his funding reinstated for the start of 2010 and in Barcelona that year, he stormed to a gold medal at the European Championships on an emotionally-charged evening in Spain, with his family cheering him on in the stands.

It was the defining moment for Turner, when his own faith and that of his family in his ability was vindicated.

A few months later, he added Commonwealth Games gold to his medal collection, delivering under a huge weight of expectation in Delhi.

Then, last year, he not only made a final at a world championships in Daegu, he claimed bronze in a year where he broke his personal best, clocking 13.22secs in Switzerland.

Three consecutive major championships resulted in two golds and a bronze medal. Not bad for a Notts lad who a few years earlier had been written off by the powers that be.

"There have been a lot of moments where I have questioned whether I really want to do this anymore," admitted Turner, as he sat in the stands of Harvey Hadden Stadium, looking over the track where he spent eight years as a youngster. "How much more you can take of it?

"It has been a rollercoaster career really. There have been a lot of downs but every now and again you get a little up and it makes it all worthwhile.

"All the pain and problems you have as a track athlete are worthwhile when you go and win European gold."

That is why a painful foot problem, causing problems in his Achilles, is getting under his skin so much right now.

It is something being looked at this week by medical staff and Turner hopes injections will set him up to be able to train every day.

It is something that worked for him last season – allowing him to win that world medal in South Korea. And he is prepared to risk his long-term health to ensure he gets to his home Olympics-pain free and in the best shape of his life.

Turner said: "I have been there, done it and am fed up of not being at my best in Olympic year. I want to be at my physical peak in London.

"Hopefully this injection will do what it did last year, take away the pain so I can go out and train.

"If having these injections messes my foot up next year or the year after, so be it. I have just got to get through this year and I am prepared to take the risk.

"I have already had three cortisone injections in one foot and it effects the soft tissue, it can almost disintegrate it. So the more you do, the more risk in the long-term. But I am going to take that risk to get it right this year."

Turner has just spent three months in Florida training with 110m hurdles rival David Oliver, of the USA, taking his girlfriend Natalie and daughters Jasmin, seven, Carmen, five, and nine-month-old Morgan with him.

It was a successful stint which got him sharp and, as a result, he hopes the Achilles pain can soon be sorted so he can pick up where he left off in America.

The Europeans take place in Helsinki a month before the Olympics, so Turner is unlikely to defend his title as London remains his sole focus.

But, with so much success at major championships in the last two years and with two Olympics behind him, the 31-year-old believes he will be mentally equipped to challenge for top honours.

"It has been pretty good in the last few years and I just want to continue on that upward slope," he said. "It does get easier to prepare. The hardest thing is producing what you have to do in a competition environment.

"It is all right doing it in a one-off race but when you go to a champs and the pressure is on, it is really hard.

"I feel now I can go into a big championship, produce a good, clean race and do my best when I need to. I have done that in the last three major competitions.

"It is mentally draining and you have to be strong. But because I have been there before, I know what to expect.

"It is hard. An Olympic medal is the biggest achievement of all and it won't come as easy as the world medal but I am working hard, sacrificing my life to get there. I will do whatever it takes."

And when it comes to the London Olympics, Turner hopes to not only be there, but challenging for the podium.

But will he feel like a character in Cool Runnings, like eight years ago in Greece?

"Running in the Diamond League, I am now used to running in front of 50,000 people," he said. "The only thing is when you get the big cheer on the starting line, that's when the nerves kick in.

"It's a big year and although I am from Nottingham, I moved to London to train so seeing the stadium being built, hearing everyone talking about it, it is exciting.

"I just don't want to go into the stadium before I race.

"When I run at Crystal Palace, it feels too much like home. It's too comfortable. I don't want that feeling so I have to stay away, keep it fresh."

Now, the hope is when he looks up in London and sees the Olympic flame, he won't feel out of place.

This time he will be an experienced, proven champion, ready to put his body on the line in the hope of making it third time lucky when it comes to the greatest sporting show on the planet.

And given the knocks he has bounced back from in the past, it would take a courageous person to bet against him upsetting the podium party on the night of Wednesday August 8.

Andy Turner is an ambassador for Alfa Romeo – official car supplier to UK Athletics (UKA). Visit: www.alfaromeo.co.uk