Amy ‘can go faster’ in Glasgow games

That’s a promising prospect for the 25 year-old, who is already bang in form, having equalled the Irish record of 11.40 as she sealed her spot in the 100m race.

“Over the past few years, I’ve been consistent but hopefully I’ve made that breakthrough now. With the right conditions. I can definitely go faster. I have a lot more in me,” she said.

Foster all but sealed her spot in the NI team with last month’s record time in Florida but her place was finalised this week.

“I’m getting excited now that it’s been rubber-stamped,” she said.

“I went to Florida in April and May because the Commonwealth selection was quite early.

“Over there, they run both directions so that they can run with the tail wind. Sometimes it can be too strong, as it was in one of my three races but then in my last race, I got the Commonwealth time, the European Championships time, the NI record and equalled the Irish record all in one go.

“I had the time in my head that I needed but in that final one, I was between two German girls, one who had been running faster than me and one who was similar.
“Running between them meant I could race them stride to stride. I matched them right to the line and one of them only beat me by one hundredth of a second. That pushed me on and it allowed me to forget about the time and concentrate on the race, which helped me.

“Afterwards, I could see my coach watching the times come up on the board. I knew he would have gone crazy if I had ran the Irish record but he couldn’t believe I equalled it. He was really happy but a little shocked too.”

Foster’s experiences on the other side of the pond, she says, will spur her on going into the Games in Glasgow, where she’s targetting a place in the showcase final.

“I know now that when I come up against girls who have been racing faster than me, I can deal with the pressure,” she said.

“In Delhi, I made the semi-finals of the 100m and 200m. Now I want to make the final and be in the top eight. That’s a realistic goal for me.

“My current personal best would have won a medal in Delhi but I think it will be a stronger field this time. Jamaica didn’t send that strong a team last time but they will to Glasgow and England have some girls running really well too.

“Once you’re in the final, anything can happen.”

Foster will be racing in the 44,000 capacity Hampden Park but her experiences in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games along with many other international tournaments mean she’s well equipped to deal with the attention.

She said: “When you get into the stadium, you don’t really realise how big it all is because you’re so focused but then afterwards it sinks in how many people are there. Thankfully, I’ve raced in these settings before so I won’t be overwhelmed.

“My family have got tickets so it’ll be nice to have them all there in the stadium.”

Before the Games, Foster has three more races, beginning with next weekend’s European Team Championships in Estonia. A week before Glasgow, she’ll compete in the Irish Championships and then cross the Irish Sea to represent NI.