Will Yelling get through the Great Wall?

But at 33-years-old, it seems that this summer's Games in Beijing will be the last chance for the Dorset-based British star.

Next month's London Marathon on April 13 will prove to be the crunch date in Yelling's calendar, where a good result will guarantee her place in the Great Britain team for the summer.

And having won her past two events, missing out on her personal best by six seconds at the Reading Half Marathon on March 2 after setting a new course record at the Wokingham Half Marathon just eight days prior, Yelling will go into the race in top form.

"On my current form, I'm pretty confident about qualifying," said Yelling, who moved to Parkstone from Loughborough in January.

"It was encouraging to get so close to my personal best at Reading, so I know there's more to come. I'm just waiting for the right opportunity."

Yelling has enjoyed a hugely successful career to date, having won team gold, silver and bronze at the European Cross Country Championships, and bronze in two of her nine appearances for Great Britain at the World Cross Country Championships.

But the former world number one believes her greatest achievement came at the 2006 Commonwealth Games: "The bronze medal I won in Melbourne was my best moment as it was an individual event.

"In 2005, I suffered from chronic fatigue as a result of training too hard. I could hardly walk - never mind run, so to go and win Commonwealth bronze the next year made it even more special."

Yelling put a huge amount of her success down to her coach, Alex Stanton, who has coached her for more than 20 years.

He also coaches Paula Radcliffe who Yelling believes has had just as telling an input in her career.

"My coach has been invaluable. He has been like a parent to me, and he's guided me both on my running as well as personally. I've grown up with Paula, and by showing her dedication she's been a huge influence for me. She's so inspiring, and it goes to show how a real' person can make it to the top."

Indeed dedication seems to be the key for Yelling, who is running between 100 and 110 miles a week to be fully prepared for next month's marathon.

Dedication is a word that has been reiterated to her time and again since the age of nine when she joined Bedford and County Athletic Club.

There she learnt the competitive side to the sport, and Yelling hopes that will see her qualify for Team Great Britain, and ultimately bring back a medal to help propel Britain up the medal table.

With Britain consistently finishing around tenth place in the Olympic standings, questions have been raised as to whether the country has reached its peak in the sport, or if the system of bringing through new talent is not suffice enough to see Britain rivalling the best in every tournament.

Yelling said: "The press seem to think that we've gone through a lull, but we've now got a bit of a resurgence of young talent.

"I think we need to be encouraging children to be more active and giving them good experiences. There are too many bad experiences for youngsters which put them off at an early age, meaning there's a lot of untouched talent sitting on the couch.

"Perhaps Beijing will be a marker for us, but I think that we'll see huge successes in 2012."

One of these successes could come from Hampshire long-distance runner Louise Damon who Yelling knows well.

"I'm in regular contact with Louise. I know she ran an exceptional debut race in the Reading Half Marathon recently - she really is one to watch for the future."

And the London Olympics are something that Yelling would love to get involved in.

"I'd like to be involved somehow, but not until after my career. I've still got a few boxes to tick first!"

An Olympic medal will certainly be one of those boxes she wants to tick, and should she carry her form into the London Marathon and hopefully to Beijing, perhaps she just might.

• The headline for this story came from 2CR listener Jeff Finch, who won the Headline Game on the Paul Bunker Show.