Sotherton is back on track for Beijing after suffering from acute kidney failure

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The Olympic bronze medallist will be a member of the 4x400metres relay squad in France on 21-22 June as a key part of her preparations for the Beijing Games.

And she is under added pressure to perform in Beijing after fellow heptathlete Jessica Ennis was ruled out with an ankle injury earlier this month.

Back in the fast lane: Kelly Sotherton with the silver medal she won in the Womens Pentathlon Event during the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

But Sotherton revealed that she, too, might have been sidelined for the Olympics had it not been for quick medical intervention.

She said: “It was not just an infection, I had acute kidney failure and I was quite ill
for a few days.

"I have had all the tests and they are all clear, so I have been training now for three weeks.

“I didn’t know what would happen, whether they would tell me I needed to have to a month off, be on these drugs or say that’s it, bye-bye to the Olympics.

“It does go through your mind because I missed training and then I missed the heptathlon in Gotzis last week, which was heart-wrenching.

But luckily I have come across okay.

“I was training in Italy. I did a very hard session and within four hours I was really ill. I knew there was something wrong because I was so tired but I did not know what it was.

“No one really knows how it has come about. That is why I have to be careful in the future, having regular check-ups.”

Sotherton’s 400m time of 52.47sec from the indoor season is the third best by a Briton this year.

The women’s 4x400m relay team in Annecy will also include world champion Christine Ohuruogu, who has been chosen for the individual 200m, while world silver medallist Nicola Sanders is competing in the one-lap event.