British Legend Jo Pavey On How She’s Still Going Strong At 48 + Reflections On Great Moments Of Her Career

The CITIUS MAG Podcast

September 24, 2021

“When I go and talk in schools and you’ve got these negative issues, you want to portray the positivity of ‘Wow. This is such a great thing to be involved in running, sport and events.’ Even though it’s frustrating, you want to put that positive message out. You want kids to get involved. You want to celebrate being together as runners. When I look back at my career, yes, I am frustrated at what my career could have been but that’s the same for so many athletes…You just have to think, ‘Yeah, but I’ve traveled all over the world. I’ve met amazing people. I’ve competed at Olympic Games. Aren’t I a lucky person to have had that?’ That’s kind of the message I want to take forward as well. Of course, I’m gutted about people who cheat but you want to think about the positives of our sport as well. There’s still work to do.”

Jo Pavey is a five-time Olympian for Great Britain. She is the 2007 world championship bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters after finishing fourth but then getting upgraded to the podium following a re-test of the anti-doping samples that found Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey had tested positive for a banned steroid. However, the upgrade didn’t happen for 10 years so it really did affect the course of her career. We talk about that and how she continued to press forward with her doubts for years. She is also the 2014 European champion in the 10,000 meters, which she says is the other proudest moment of her career because it came at 40 years old and as a mother. She just celebrated her 48th birthday and has plans to continue racing so you’ll get to learn more about the keys to her longevity. It was fun to sit down with Jo alongside my recurring co-host Kyle Merber before we commentated at the Saucony Fast Future 10K in Essen, Germany.

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Chris Chavez

Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.