Adam Gemili is contemplating a triple bid for gold at next year’s European Athletics Championships in Berlin.
The British sprinter is aiming to double up in the individual events in the German capital and will be a key part of the relay squad for the major track and field event of the summer.
Berlin is part of the inaugural European Championships in conjunction with Glasgow, and it was in the Scottish city in 2014 that Gemili, 24, set the tone for the senior success that decorates his career.
Three years ago he won silver in the 100m and 4x100m relay at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - his first major medals at senior level - before a few weeks later becoming one of the stars of the European Championships in Zurich. At 20, Gemili sped to the 200m title in 19.97 against a 1.6 m/s headwind before running the anchor leg of the British gold medal-winning team in the 4x100m relay.
Gemili didn’t contest any individual events at the European Championships in Amsterdam last summer but he did help the British team to another gold medal in the sprint relay.
As 2018 beckons, Gemili finds himself needing to peak twice in his pursuit of glory next year with the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia at the start of April where he will run the 100m and the 4x100m relay for England.
“You don’t want to kill yourself. It [the Commonwealth Games] is quite an early season thing; it changes the preparation. You have to try to run fast in April and then really try to run fast in August at the European Championships.
“I have chosen to do the 100m and then potentially try to double up at the Europeans.”
Once a professional footballer with Dagenham & Redbridge in the English Football League, Gemili has not looked back since deciding to channel his sporting talents to the track and now has seven major gold medals since winning his first in the 100m at the IAAF World U20 Championships in Barcelona.
His last gold medal came just a few months ago when he ran a storming second leg as Britain’s men won the 4x100m relay on home soil at the World Championships in London in a European record of 37.47, edging out an American team including individual 100m champion Justin Gatlin by five-hundredths.
WE ARE THE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!! No words to describe how I feel right now. Overwhelmed with the messages of support. Thank you all so much! pic.twitter.com/NDv3dtCkXT
— Adam Gemili (@Adam_Gemili) August 13, 2017
But even with all his success, Gemili takes nothing for granted as he revealed in his chat with BBC Radio 4 today in light of his Commonwealth selection.
Gemili was named in a 75-strong English athletics team and said: “With the athletes we have at the moment there is never any guarantee. With any team you have to run the standard and wait and pray that you get selected.
“Selection can be a tough time for many athletes and you might lose some sleep over it, but when you get the call there is no better feeling.”
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More information on the 2018 European Championships:
- The Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships will be part of the first multi-sport European Championships along with co-hosts Glasgow.
- It will be a must-watch, must-attend experience that elevates the status of European Champions, uniting existing European Championships to celebrate the highest honour in European sport and celebrating the defining moments that create Champions.
- It is the continent’s ultimate multi-sport event, an 11-day celebration of European sport staged every 4 years.
- Seven of Europe’s leading sports (athletics, aquatics, rowing, golf, cycling, gymnastics, triathlon) will be brought together for the first edition.
- The European Athletics Championships in Berlin will be staged 7-12 August. The six other sports will be staged in Glasgow through 2-12 August.
- 4,500 athletes and 52 nations will compete across the seven sports.
- Potential TV audience of over 1 billion with millions more across multiple digital platforms.
- Over half a million spectators expected.