Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Dream team Emotions high after GB sprinters’ golden success
BRITAIN’S sensational sprinters have restored national pride by winning a blisteringly quick relay.
The 4x100m team ran the third fastest time ever to win GB’S second gold of the World Athletics Championships.
A packed London Olympic stadium roared on CJ Ujah, Adam Gemili, Danny Talbot and Nethaneel Mitchell-blake as they ran a near perfect race in 37.47 seconds.
Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt collapsed down the home stretch in his last race.
It is the first time Britain have been world champs and it was an extra special night for anchor runner Mitchellblake. The humble 23-year-old was reunited with mum Audrey in the stadium for the first time in three years. He grew up in the East End but moved to Jamaica when he was 13. Audrey still lives there but he is based in the US. Mitchellblake had flown her to the UK but training and his gran in Derby falling ill meant they didn’t meet until the biggest moment in his career.
He said: “Words cannot describe how much it meant to share that moment with her.” SIR Mo Farah finishes on a high despite missing out on a final gold on the track.
The athlete did his Mobot celebration on top of a capsule as he rode the 440fttall London Eye yesterday. The Olympic He graduated in international trade and finance from Louisiana State University in May before concentrating on running and summer school.
He said: “All of us make legend, 34, took silver in his final major track race, the 5,000m, at the World Championships in London on Saturday. Wife Tania and their girls Amani, Aisha and Rihanna joined him on the podium. sacrifices in sport. It’s what it takes to be successful. It makes it worthwhile.” Yesterday he said the reality of being world champions had not sunk in.
He said. “Sooner or later I’ll
start to believe it but for now I’m just enjoying the moment. It’s truly humbling and something I won’t take for granted.”
Teammate Adam Gemili, also 23, who played football for Dagenham & Redbridge, said: “It’s been a dream of everyone coming into athletics to be a world champion and to be the best in the world at something.”
While Danny Talbot, 26, of Trowbridge, Wilts, dedicated his win to fellow British athlete James Ellington, 31, recovering from a motorbike crash which nearly killed him in January.
The women’s 4x100m relay team also put in a great performance on Saturday, finishing second behind the US. Asha Philip, Desiree Henry, Dina Asher-smith and Daryll Neita went one better than their bronze at 2016’s Rio Olympics.
Last night Team GB women’s 4x400m team – Zoey Clark, Laviai Nielsen, Eilidh Doyle and Emily Diamond – won silver, while the 4x400m men – Martyn Rooney, Matt Hudson-smith, Dwayne Cowan and Rabah Yousif – took home bronze.
Sir Mo Farah won Team GB’S other gold in the 10,000m race.