Hughes pips Gemili to place in 200m team
Adam Gemili has failed to win an individual place on the British team for next month’s London World Championships after the selectors decided against giving him time to prove his fitness.
Gemili missed out on an Olympic 200m medal by just three-thousandths of a second last summer, but has struggled with a leg injury this campaign, trailing in sixth at the British trials and admitting he had to “pray for selection”.
Despite having the option of leaving the final 200m spot vacant until the July 24 deadline, the selectors have instead chosen Zharnel Hughes to partner Nethaneel Mitchell-blake and Danny Talbot on the team, picking Gemili solely for the 4x100m squad.
“In the circumstances we had to go on performance in the trials and recent performances, and that meant that we chose Zharnel ahead of Adam,” said Neil Black, British Athletics performance director.
“But Adam is a critical member of the 4x100m relay team. It’s a huge disappointment for Adam but he will deal with it as he always does, professionally and appropriately.”
There was relief for sprinters Dina Asher-smith and Desiree Henry, with both handed individual places after failing to gain automatic selection. Asher-smith will go in the 200m, with Henry given the third 100m berth.
Greg Rutherford has been named as Britain’s sole long jump representative despite withdrawing from recent competitions as he struggles to recover from an ankle injury. The world champion is the only British jumper to have gained the qualification mark this season.
Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah will lead the home charge at his final major championships before retiring from the track as he defends his 5,000m and 10,000m titles. Others doubling up include Laura Muir, who will contest both the 1,500m and 5,000m, and heptathlete Katarina Johnson-thompson, who is also contesting the high jump. Olympic and double world 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu’s international career looks to be over after she was left out of the 4 x 400m squad.
Despite injuries, Black denied that they might struggle to win medals on home turf. “Historically the trend is one of reduced performances after the Olympics, so we’re trying to buck the trend,” he said.