Kilty anger at spike ‘sabotage’

RICHARD KILTY is fired up to defend his 60 metres title at the European indoor championships next month after his running spikes went missing in what he thinks could have been a sabotage attempt.

Kilty thinks another athlete might have made off with his shoes at the British trials in Sheffield to damage his chances. He false-started for the fifth time in two years and was disqualified from the final, although his display at the Birmingham Grand Prix over the weekend all but guaranteed his selection for the Europeans in Belgrade.

‘My spikes were stolen,’ said Kilty. ‘I didn’t want to make any excuses but everything was going smoothly then I headed to the call room and my spikes weren’t there. We tipped up every bed and bag but couldn’t find them.

‘I thought I wasn’t going to be able to run. I had a pair that belonged to (team-mate) Luke Lennon Ford in the back of my car, they were a size and a half too big but I strapped them on. I was just confused and my emotions were everywhere, which I think contributed to my false start.’

The 27-year-old has considered the possibility that it was a sabotage attempt. ‘Potentially it was,’ he said.

In Birmingham, Kilty finished third over 60m behind America’s Ronnie Baker and 40-year- old Kim Collins. His 6.58sec dash was way short of his personal best but he will still be favourite for gold in Belgrade and thinks faster times are on the horizon.

‘I’m full of flu,’ he said. ‘I was considering not coming and when I was warming up I could barely breathe. I just came out and muscled it and relied on my instincts. I think I’ll gain a tenth of a second once my illness clears up.’

Laura Muir and Mo Farah stole the show in Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena, setting European Indoor records in the 1,000m and 5,000m respectively.

Muir has been sensational this year, setting a British record each time she has raced, continuing her fine form with a 2:31.93 victory, paced by Jenny Meadows.

Farah was emotional after running the final race of his indoor career, winning the 5,000m in 13:09.16. He held off Albert Rop of Bahrain which bodes well for the defence of his 5,000m and 10,000m titles at the worlds in London in August.