INJURY-PLAGUED distance runner Chris Thompson still feels he has the potential to medal at the Rio Olympics.

The Barrow-born athlete missed more than a year of competitive action in 2014 and 2015 following and Achilles operation and only returned to the start line last month.

He tasted success in the Great Birmingham Run half-marathon to make is a joyous return and is now in the USA training in preparation for next season.

The 2010 European Championships 10,000m silver medallist is targeting the marathon distance in Rio next year and, despite the setbacks he has endured with injury and fitness issues, still believes he has the chance to step on to the podium and taste Olympic glory.

“With an Olympic or World Championship marathon, there is a key statistic, which is highly motivational for someone like me,” said the 34-year-old from his training base In Flagstaff, Arizona.

“A 2:10 finish, is the average time for an Olympic medallist when you look at the results from the previous championships.

“If you run a 2:10 in any big city marathon, you won't be top 10.

“When you're looking at these championship marathons, you're only going to be running against three people from each country.

“If you look at the World Championships just gone, you've got Dennis Kimetto, the world record holder, and Wilson Kispang, who is the best marathon runner around at the moment, and they both had awful days.

“A marathon, if you have a bad day, there are usually about five other Africans there to take up the reins. In the big championships, there aren't.

“That's why you saw two Italian runners at the World Championships with a lead. Unfortunately, they got closed down, but the lead European was fourth.

“I'm looking at these guys and thinking I can do that.

“John Brown was fourth at two Olympics. When you look at championship marathons, people prove time and time again that it is possible.

“Am I ever going to win a big city marathon? Am I ever going to win London or Berlin? No.

“I'm not being defeatist in saying no, but could I get close to a medal at a major championship? Yes, but I've got to get it right, I've got to train hard and that's a massive motivational factor for me for next year.

“If I go to Rio in 2:10, 2:09 shape, that kind of shape is what, if you execute on the day, will get you very close to a medal. That's all you can do.

“That is the aim and that is the motivation.”

In order to achieve his ambition in Rio next August, Thompson will need his body to cooperate.

His Olympic dream in London three years ago was shattered as he pushed himself to breaking point and suffered both a broken back and a hamstring problem ahead of the 10,000m final.

He still stepped out into the stadium on Super Sunday, when Mo Farah – in the 10,000m – Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford all won gold for Great Britain on a great night, but his own memories of the occasion are tarnished by his inability to give his best on the track.

In order for that not to happen again in 2016, Thompson is taking a different approach to his Olympic preparations, and said: “For London 2012, I threw the kitchen sink at myself and the team around me to try and medal, to the point where it was make or break – and I broke. My back broke.

“I put 125 per cent into it and this time, rather than thinking I need to be in 2:07, 2:08 shape for the marathon and throwing everything at it, I would rather be on the start line 100 per cent healthy and just ease back on the throttle a little bit to make sure I'm there and execute a good race.

“The next 10 months are as much about being sensible as working hard. There will be a little bit of a handbrake on, because there are no second chances for me any more. There are no other Olympics.

“I want a performance at the Olympics I am proud of.

“I don't regret London, but at the same time you look at it and it was the best and worst experience of my entire running career.

“There was a high from becoming an Olympian, but a low because you want to perform your best.

“I was in a no-win state. I had broken my back, my hamstring was falling off because I had torn it. I didn't want to be running round, because it wasn't me, but because it was the Olympics, I was there.

“Any other race, you wouldn't put yourself in that position, because you're not ready for the competition. But it was the Olympics and you fight for it.

“If there is one thing to take away, it's that I don't want all or bust at Rio, I want a performance I'm proud of. That's my main priority and I'm not going to put myself on the edge of a cliff like I did in London.

“Because I'm a bit older, I think I have things that will constantly be aching to the point where I can't recover like I used to. That's fine, that's part of the process – it's what you sign up to when you keep fighting for this long in your career.

“It would definitely be a joint-effort between my body, my mind and my team. Before, it was my mind and my team and my body was coming with me whether it liked it or not!

“This time, the body needs to concur."