Gemili gets real kick out of sports switch
THERE’S only one problem with being Britain’s hottest sprint prospect – not being able to play football any more.
Adam Gemili goes to Glasgow as the man who could upset the mighty Jamaicans after a meteoric two- year rise from lower leagues professional with Dagenham & Redbridge to poster boy of the England Commonwealth Games team.
In 2011, he was sitting on the substitutes’ bench in the Capital One Cup. A year later he just missed out on a place in the London 2012 Olympics men’s 100m Final against
I’ve got to put myself in the final
Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and the rest.
“I’ve no regrets about my decision to switch from football to athletics,” he says. “I’m absolutely loving what I do now.
“But the downside is that I’m not really allowed to play football these days, not even five-a-sides.
“During the off- season I might have a kick- about on the park with my mates, but nothing competitive. I have to rely on them not to slide tackle me!
“I was at Chelsea’s academy for a long time when I was younger and I probably played against a lot of players who are in and around the England squad now.
“If 2012 hadn’t gone so well for me, I would have gone back to football. It was only a year out and that’s not a long time.
“It wouldn’t have been a problem to go back but after winning gold at the World Juniors then getting to the semi- final in the Olympics, I knew I couldn’t walk away from this.”
Gemili’s personal best for the 100m is 10.05 seconds, a tiny fraction above the magical 10 second barrier which separates the world class sprinters from the merely very good.
“I’ve still got a lot that I can improve on,” he says. “The way sprinting is going, there are a lot of guys posting sub- 10s. It might take sub- ten to win Commonwealth gold. I’ve just got to put myself in the Final and see what happens.
“My aim is to get amongst the medals in Glasgow, not to run specific times.”
The news that Usain Bolt hopes to run in the Jamaican relay team as he continues his recovery from a foot injury is a big filip.
“It would be great for the Commonwealth Games if Usain was there because he would bring a lot to the event and it would be a great privilege to race him,” says Gemili. “He’s done for the sport what no athlete in the past has ever done. He’s given sprinting such a huge platform.
“But to me it’s irrelevant whether he’s there or not. It has to be about what I do.”