Joy of six for GB as relay teams hit medal target
WHEN all else fails, there are always relays. A day after Britain’s men and women took gold and silver in the 4x100m, along swaggered a pair of 4x400m squads to carry the home nation to their medal target. Six medals were requested by UK Sport and six were delivered, courtesy of five in the final 24 hours of these championships, four of which came in the relays. It is open to some debate whether that last-minute salvo constitutes an unqualified success, given Mo Farah was the only individual to strike with his two medals. But hitting the target will take the heat off British Athletics’ performance director Neil Black, who was open to serious scrutiny after every anticipated medal contender other than Farah fell short. He has always put heavy stock in relays, though, and last night that paid off. The women’s quartet of Zoey Clark, Laviai Nielsen, Eilidh Doyle and Emily Diamond saved what was looking like a difficult day by picking up silver behind the US. They have now won 4x400m medals in five of the past seven world championships, as well as Olympic bronze in Rio. Moments later, the men’s four of Matthew Hudson-Smith, Dwayne Cowan, Rabah Yousif and Martyn Rooney added a bronze in the wake of Trinidad and Tobago and the US. Of those two closing medals, great credit must go to Nielsen, who hauled Britain from sixth place to second on leg two, even if their chances of further progression were zero from the moment Allyson Felix took the baton on the first US changeover and masterminded a world-leading time. Doyle said: ‘We knew we were capable of getting a medal but knew it would be tough. To get a silver when we are always on the bronzes, to go one better, is incredible. To finish with that is a great ending to a great championships.’ In the men’s, the first surprise was that Hudson-Smith was in for Jack Green, having withdrawn at late notice in the heats, prompting Rooney to say he needed to ‘get his head right’. It was Hudson-Smith who botched the relay effort in Rio last year, but he contributed to an excellent bronze here. On an individual basis, the day was far less satisfying for the home team, with Robbie Grabarz coming in a disappointingi ti sixthi thi in th the hi high h jump and Tom Bosworth getting disqualified while leading after 12km in the 20km race walk. Laura Muir ran well for sixth in the 5,000m but was never in medal contention. She delivered a personal best of 14:52.07, kicking from ninth place to sixth in the final lap. Kenya’s Hellen Obiri took gold. Muir said: ‘I was so close to the medals, finishing fourth and sixth in the finals. Five races in 10 days is a lot so I think I can take a lot of positives. It’s been tough, maybe more physically than mentally. I’ve enjoyed the opportunities to come out here and give the two events a shot, and I’m really happy I placed highly in both.’ The most impressive performance of the night was delivered by Caster Semenya, who went from third to first on the home straight to win the 800m final in a world-leading 1:55.16. Lynsey Sharp was eighth.