5th September 2013 00:27
Before that is a date with the Final of the Diamond League in Brussels this Friday where the Russian will be hoping to repeat her Berlin performance from last Sunday when she crossed the line first on the famous blue tartan.
The second peak in Sharmina’s career after that junior success in 2005 came at the European indoors in Paris two years ago where she finished in bronze running under her maiden name Martynova.
But her London Olympic campaign was not distinguished as she failed to progress beyond the heats.
This year is a different story, however, as the 27-year-old from Bryansk, south-west of Moscow, has finally come out of her shell, emerging as a serious contender for major honours in her own mind as much as for observers of the sport.
In the European Athletics Team championships in Gateshead, she gained valuable points for Russia winning the 1500m and coming second in the 800m.
Then came an important success at the Universiade, this time on home ground in Kazan, when she lifted 1500m gold. When you consider that Sharmina followed in the footsteps of such luminaries as Gabriella Dorio, Sonia O’Sullivan and Gabriela Szabo, she is rubbing shoulders with athletes who went on to forge substantial reputations.
“From the very beginning I wanted and planned for gold,” declared a confident Sharmina after the Kazan final. “I would have been happy with silver or bronze, but I would not have been satisfied.”
The big challenge of the summer came at the Moscow World Championships where the Russian, fancied for a medal, had a torrid time before finishing sixth. It was clearly the sharpest learning curve of her career.
“It was a really hard race,” admitted Sharmina. “I gave everything I could. Above all I was afraid of a slow tactical race with a lot of pushing but that is how it turned out. It was really hard and I created my own problems and I tried everything in my power to resolve them.
'For better or worse, I don’t know how I did what I did. I even managed to finish quite well and even recovered a few places. It was physically draining. In this world there is no such thing as luck. All the medallists were really very well prepared.”
You get the feeling that such brutal self-analysis can only be beneficial.
So it may not be so surprising that Sharmina came out for her next race at ISTAF Berlin last Sunday with her script learned.
This time, she played her hand to perfection. Despite being passed by two athletes with 200m to go, including world 800m champion Eunice Sum, she refused to panic and counterattacked at the start of the straight to cross the line first.
Berlin, though, was a paced race unlike the dawdle in Moscow. But it is precisely that type of race that Sharmina has to be ready for.
“It was a slow crawl, not the sort of race I had prepared for at all. I was in the pack behind Abeba Aregawa (the winner, representing Sweden) and she was not making a move either. It is very difficult to run like that. I have never run like that in my life. I usually go out with the leaders and lead the race. It is much easier to run with the leaders.”
All of which makes Brussels an intriguing prospect because there Sharmina will once again come up against three medallists from Moscow: Aregawa, Helen Obiri of Kenya and former world champion Jenny Simpson of the USA.
World Championships, Take Two. Can the Russian get it right this time?