Valencia, Spain - Ask an athlete at which point tension feels the greatest and more often than not the answer is during the fifteen to twenty minutes spent in the call room, waiting to be led like gladiators into the arena.

American hurdler Lolo Jones confirmed that she had felt added pressure to perform after heavy favourite, world record holder, Susanna Kallur withdrew from the 60m hurdles competition on this the second day of the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships citing a slight muscle tear. In the call room she wished American teammate Candace Davis good luck and then prepared herself for the battle.

“I wished Candace Davis good luck and then I was talking to myself more than anybody else,” she reveals with a long laugh. ”They probably thought I was loco!”

“Half of the time between the semi-final and final is spent on mental preparation. It’s telling yourself ‘you have done this all year, you can do it again.’  And you keep on telling yourself that. Because that’s where people lose the race it’s sitting in that call room for fifteen minutes.”

This indoor season has been a coming out party for the 25-year-old Baton Rouge, resident. She was the second fastest in the world with her time of 7.77 seconds. Only Kallur ran faster.  Other than winning the 2007 US indoor championship the Louisiana State University graduate has been largely an also ran, not that a 6th place in last year’s World outdoor championships in Osaka is anything to be ashamed of.

But some things will change now.