Great Britain's forgotten man Adam Gemili getting back to his best as he targets gold in Doha

Matt Majendie @mattmajendie26 September 2019

The internal questions have peppered Adam Gemili: “Am I still fast? Can I run with the best in the world? Will I look stupid?”

The London-born athlete believes he became the forgotten man of British athletics after breaking the 10-second barrier for the 100m at the British Championships back in 2015 and tearing his hamstring in the process.

While he has won sprint relay gold at world and European level since, only now does he believe he is finally getting back to being the force he once was, and there has been some hefty self-analysis in the intervening years.

“It can take a lot out of you when you haven’t run fast in so long,” he said. “But I know I can run, I’m mentally tough and, when fit and healthy, I can mix it with the best people in the world.”

Publicly, the turning point came in this year’s nationals, where he won the 200m with a championship record and booked his place in Britain’s World Championships team for the 100m.

But for Gemili, the true flip was a winter spent in Florida with coach Rana Reider, fit and able to train fully alongside Andre de Grasse, previously earmarked as a successor to Usain Bolt but blighted by his own hamstring issues.

“It’s the best build-up I’ve had in a very long time,” said Gemili. “It was such a long time being injured. I’d have one training session and then have to have two days’ rest. The last couple of years have been like that. I haven’t made it massively public but I’ve not even been able to do 50 per cent of the work. It’s nice to get my body back.”

Ahead of the national championships, his name had barely been mentioned. Had he been written off? “Yeah, maybe but you’re only as good as your last race,” said Gemili. “People forget how fast I can be. I kept my head down and showed what good shape I’m in. Hopefully people now think ‘wait a second, we remember Adam can actually run’. But that doesn’t matter. Only Doha and the World Championships matter.”

The Doha benchmark over 100m is Christian Coleman, who arrives with a cloud over him after missing three doping tests in the past year but avoiding a ban due to a legal loophole.

Of the American’s eligibility, Gemili said: “I don’t have an issue with him competing as that’s the law and he’s cleared to compete. But maybe he needed to put his hands up, say ‘I made a honest mistake and I’ve been tested many times’. But it’s all good and anyway I just stick to my lane.”

In an era where British athletes often focus on executing their races above everything else, Gemili is refreshing in that he has only one target.

“I don’t train and sacrifice so much not to aim for the gold,” he said. “I’m not scared of any athlete.

“Some people are just content with getting the kit, making a semi-final, putting it on social media. But I’m trying to follow Jess Ennis-Hill, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah and have that mentality that not even making the final is enough.

“Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Laura Muir and Dina Asher-Smith are among those that have that attitude. When I just missed out on a medal at the Olympics in Rio, people were like ‘but you came fourth at the Olympics’, but I walked away with the same medal as if I’d finished last — none.”

The 25-year-old is content for people to continue writing him off. He has a file on his phone with quotes from those in the athletics world who have done so. Dismissed by many as a relay runner and only on relay funding at British Athletics, he wants to prove he can be Britain’s No1 individual sprinter once more.

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