Jo Fenn is ready for the big time in Birmingham

There was a moment towards the end of the women’s 1000 metres at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham (21 February), when Britain’s Jo Fenn emerged from the pack of international hopefuls and finally came of age as a genuine medal contender.

It was billed as a World record race for Jolanda Ceplak, a chance for her to attack Maria Mutola’s mark of 2:30.94. But as she hit the bell, some five metres clear of the field, the Slovenian’s form began to falter, and it was Fenn who strode across the gap to challenge. Moving onto Ceplak’s shoulder down the back straight, it looked like the Briton might even take an unexpected victory.

Ceplak held on to win, but Fenn’s strength and boldness brought her a British record of 2:38.45, less than half a second behind the World indoor 800m record holder. “Everyone said I could do it, but I tried to put that at the back of my mind and concentrate on the race,” she said afterwards. “At the end I didn’t know whether I had got it until I heard the crowd. It feels brilliant.”

“I almost went for her but by the time I’d thought about it, she’d kicked and it was too late,” she says. “But I am definitely not afraid to go for it at the World Indoors. I’m not just going to make the final, I’ll be going for gold.”

Just over a week later on the same track Fenn ran a very different, but equally telling race. In the 800m at the British world indoor trials, she attacked from the start and ran alone to a new personal best of 1:59.74. It was her first sub-two minute time indoors and only her second ever – the first coming when she finished seventh in the final of the Commonwealth Games last summer.

More importantly, it was the third quickest time in the world this year, and ranks second only to Kelly Holmes’ 1:59.21, set in Ghent earlier this season, on the UK all-time lists. Fenn, it seems, is finally ready for the big time.

“I wanted to run like that because that’s what it’s going to be like at the World Indoors,” she says. “I really needed to run hard and go through the pain. Now I think I could definitely run sub-two minutes consistently. In the past I would run about 2:03 and then peak around August, but now I am just going to keep going down and down, and run as many sub-two minute races as possible.”

Such self-belief has been a long time coming for this once injury-prone and inconsistent athlete. But if she’s true to her word, Fenn will be in the hunt when she returns to Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena next weekend. Indeed, she believes she’s in 1:57 shape, “if pushed”, which could well secure a medal, at least.

“But I also want to run intelligently, qualifying by right each round,” she says. “I want to be seen as a top level competitor, a real contender.”

Winning a medal at the World Indoors would put her up there with the best on the sport’s highest stage. Not that she’s any stranger to stages, for Fenn has spent much of her off-track time pursuing success in her other great love – music. She already has a publishing contract with an American independent company, which wants to market her lyrics to big country stars in the United States, and she’s recorded a collection of her own songs with which she hopes to attract the interest of record companies.

“Athletics is my main focus at the moment but I would like to get a record deal as well,” she says. “I would like to become world class in both, that would be fantastic.”

Singing, it seems, came as easily as running to this 28 year-old from Leytonstone, east London. While much of her childhood was spent racing her twin brother to the end of the street, and being “a real tomboy” at school – “I was known as the best girl runner and best girl fighter,” she says – much time was also spent singing and performing. She made her first stage appearance at nine, as a pantomime fairy, sang in the school choir, and often performed in school plays. Her parents were a big influence too.

“We always used to sing at home,” she says, remembering how her St Lucian mother and east end Dad played jazz music in the house. “We were brought up on music,” she says. “On Sunday mornings they’d put on Ella Fitzgerald and we’ll all sing along.”

At 17 she joined her sister’s rock band, called ‘The Business’. Although her sister has long since moved on, until recently Jo still performed gigs with the band around London, singing cover songs at weddings and parties. She also performs her own “folky, poppy, country” songs at songwriters’ venues in the British capital. Two years ago, she even did a turn at the British Athletics Writers’ Association’s annual awards dinner at the Park Lane Hotel – a daunting prospect for anyone!

“I love singing and if I can find success with my music that would be fantastic,” she says. “But even if that doesn’t happen I’ll be singing with The Business for the next 20 years.”

In the meantime, she has other business to do – on the running track. Jo Fenn, the athlete, came to prominence in the UK in 2001 when she finished a close second over 800m to Kelly Holmes at that year’s AAA indoor championships, and competed for Britain at the World Indoors that winter, missing a place in the semi-final by just 0.02 seconds. Although she was already 26, that was merely a start for Fenn, the culmination of a long haul back from years of career-threatening injuries.

As a 15 year-old she was ranked ninth in the UK for 800m, and proved her versatility by winning the English schools title for 300m hurdles. In 1991 she made the UK rankings as a Heptathlete. But years of shin injuries followed, ending only in 1999 when she had an operation for compartment syndrome in her right leg, her fourth in six years. It was a frustrating time.

“I couldn’t run, so I used to throw the javelin for Woodford Green and Essex Ladies [her club], just to stay competitive,” she says. “At some points I thought I might knock athletics on the head; it felt like someone up there didn’t want me to run.”

But giving up is not in her nature, and with her husband, Chris, and family behind her, Fenn came back to the track, improving her personal best in 2000 and again in 2001. Now coached by Ayo Falola, she’s trains with other internationals such as Catherine Murphy and Olympic 400m finallist Donna Fraser. Falola’s guidance and three years of consistent training have made her running future bright again.

“Ayo’s really worked hard for me,” she says. “I’m stronger and fitter than ever.”

In Australia last spring, Fenn brought her pb down to 2:02.11, her best ever start to a season. She slashed it again at the Commonwealth trials in Manchester last June, clocking 2:00.24, and then set that first sub-two time in the Commonwealth Games final – 1:59.86.

With that breakthrough, and this season’s sparkling form, Fenn knows she has to press the pause button on her singing career for a while. “I’m a 24 hour athlete now,” she says. “Last year I thought I was, but this time I really am.”

Along with shopping, football matches and driving to see family, she has put her music career to one side for the time being, calling a halt on gigs with the Business – “smoky clubs just don’t mix with athletics” – and cutting down on recording. She cites Paula Radcliffe’s utterly professional attitude as her inspiration, saying, “I’ve no time for anything else now, and that’s how I want it to be for the next couple of years. I want to end my athletics career knowing I’ve done the best I can. After all, I can keep singing to any age – look at Tom Jones!”

Matthew Brown for the IAAF