The presence of Merlene Ottey competing at the European Championships at the age of 50 representing Slovenia is truly remarkable. Not only is she still able to participate in top level sport like Martina Navratilova and Tom Watson, but she appears to have no desire to end her career. Although deep down there may be a fear regarding how to fill her time once her athletics career concludes, her attitude to sport is refreshing though one fears for hr if she competes at the 2011 World Championships. However, in a week that has witnessed the intensification of the countdown to the London Olympics, it warms the heart that in the commercialization and globalization of sport there remains space for the strong character who wishes to manage their sporting life on their own terms, rather than those dictated by the needs of the bottom line.