David Oliver expects maximum points in Shanghai

How do you feel ahead of this year’s IAAF Diamond League in Shanghai? What are your expectations of the competition?

I am feeling pretty good. I hurt my foot in Shanghai last year, and the injury took me out pretty much for the rest of the season. But I took three months away from running and now I am back. The outdoor season has started well for me. I’ve run 13.25, 13.19w and 13.19 so far.

With it being the first big meet of the season for the hurdles, I expect there to be hot competition, but I expect to collect maximum Diamond League points. I like where I am at with my hurdling at the moment and in Shanghai I should be even better.

You won the IAAF World Championship gold medal in Moscow 2013. Does that feel like a dream to you now? What are your ambitions for this year’s World Championships in Beijing?

I wouldn’t say it was a dream. I believe a dream is something an individual views as “out of the realm of possibility”. I never viewed winning a global title as a dream, in that sense – maybe when my career first started, but not in recent memory. I was very happy to win it and come back after a disappointing 2012 season. I am even more motivated to try to defend my title this year.

Did you hear that Liu Xiang has announced his retirement? Is there anything you like to say to him?

I definitely heard about it. Any time an announcement like that is made by an icon of his status, information about it travels around the globe very quickly. It is very sad that Liu couldn’t continue, but hopefully he will stay involved in the sport.

I would like to say to him to keep his head up, and to take solace in the fact that he had a career that many people can only dream of. He left the track having accomplished everything there is to accomplish.

When was the first time you met Liu Xiang? What’s the most impressive thing about him?

The first time I met him was in 2005 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. I had just finished university and it was my first big race at pro level. I watched him warm up the whole time and it was a pleasure racing him that day. It showed me how far I had to go to get to the top of the event. The most impressive thing about Liu is that when he came to a race, he always came ready to run and run fast.

What was your feeling after Allen Johnson’s retirement? Did you give yourself a goal of breaking the world record?

In my opinion Allen was the greatest hurdler of all time, and his retirement basically showed me that Father Time never loses, so you have to take advantage of every single opportunity because it will end one day. When it does, I want to look back and know that I exhausted every single ounce of talent I had in me.

As far as the world record, that would be great, but I have always felt that a WR is just a singular performance, just like any time run, whether it is a PB, AR, NR, whatever. It’s just one run. To me, one race doesn’t make a season and one season doesn’t make a career.

My entire goal when I started competing at this level was that when my career ended I would be in the conversation when people discussed the greatest hurdlers of my era. I believe winning my first global title was the one thing I was missing, now that I have that, I have placed myself in that conversation.

What do you regard as your best performance? Is it possible you can achieve that again?

I think my best performance was at the 2013 World Champs in Moscow. I definitely believe I can do that again this summer in Beijing. If I enter the competition at full health, a repeat of my Moscow performance is definitely obtainable.

Have you ever had a hard time in your career? Have you ever thought about retirement?

Of course, I’ve had many hard times in my career. No path to success is a smooth road and journey, it’s very bumpy, like a rollercoaster ride. I haven’t thought too much about retirement, as long as I continue to run fast and stay highly competitive within the event. I take pride in the fact that, at the age of 33, I am still running fast times and representing my country at major championships.

There are lots of new 110m hurdlers these days. As a senior athlete, do you feel under pressure from new opponents? And who impresses you most?

Yes, there’s always new and younger hurdlers coming up, all of whom have their own qualities and are very good. I don’t feel pressure because I know if I perform to my capabilities, I will be just fine. I’ve had a track record that speaks for itself.

Personally, I rarely feel pressure. Athletics is not so big in America, so we don’t suffer the pressure from the public in our country. But when I feel things are getting a little hectic, I decompress by getting away from the sport totally. I go and have a laugh at a comedy show or movie, and enjoy time with my family.

What are your expectations of the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing this summer? Do you have any special memories of the ‘Bird’s Nest’?

My expectation is to go out and defend the title I won in 2013. I ran at the Olympics in 2008 and it was such a great experience being in Beijing. Beijing is a wonderful city and the Bird’s Nest is an iconic stadium. I can’t wait to be back there. Winning the bronze medal there will always be a special memory for me.

Will you try traditional Chinese food?

I don’t know much about traditional Chinese food, just what they call Chinese food here in America. I like General Tsoa’s Chicken. I doubt that’s even real Chinese food. I don’t like trying new food, really. I wouldn’t say I’m a picky eater, but I am very selective.

After training, what do you like to do? Music? Movies? Video games? Do you feel like learning Chinese?

After training, I usually just chill out at my house and catch up on TV shows. I like music, movies and I play FIFA on Xbox One from time to time. I’m down to learn a bit of Chinese! I should know a little by now as I have visited your great country many times.