A year later he was drafted by the Chicago Bears before trying out for the Kansas City Chiefs.. Andr?abre is keen for Hurricane Run to appear next in the Irish Derby, where there is a chance that he could meet the Epsom hero Motivator. Other athletes who have made unusual starts* MARIA MUTOLABefore taking up athletics at 15, the multiple world 800m champion was a highly regarded footballer. She learnt her skills in Chamanculo, a shanty town outside Mozambique's capital of Maputo. Recently, Mutola bailed her home club Grupo Desportivo out of administration.* MARION JONESThe former Olympic 100m champion, currently embroiled in the Balco doping inquiry, was a top basketball player until she was 20, playing point guard for the University of South Carolina team that won the NCAA First Division title in 1994. But she was persuaded to switch sports by her coach because, at just under 5ft 9in, she was deemed too tall.* JOHN CAPEL The reigning world 200m champion played American Football as a wide receiver for the University of Florida in 2000 before departing to run in the Sydney Olympics.

Has now turned to celebrity wrestling.* YELENA ISINBAYEVA Russia's Olympic pole vault champion, who holds the world indoor and outdoor records, began her sporting life as a highly promising gymnast in her home city of Volgograd. Switched sports when she broke her foot.* IWAN THOMASThe Welshman who won the European, Commonwealth and World Cup 400m titles in 1998 was an international BMX bike rider from eight to 17, appearing in two world championships and taking fourth place in the European Championships. She is 11 years the Russian's junior, with years of potential improvement ahead."If I can sort out my technique, the distances will come," she says with a laugh. "The world record is only eight and a half metres off my best. Saying it like that doesn't sound as much..."I used to be a...

Although Kuzenkova has thrown more than 75m, one statistic still tells in her favour. "We have to throw off the tartan 100m track at the back so that we can use the lights from the five-a-side football pitch to help illuminate me. I tie polythene bags to my hammers so I can see where they land Then I go out with a torch to find them. And I do that every single night in the winter here."It is the same spirit that drove Britain's Commonwealth champion Mick Jones to construct his own circle on the edge of a strawberry field. And this weekend it has earned Webb a chance to measure her progress against the best in her event.