ATHLETICS:A PALPABLE sense of joy and relief emanated from the British camp last night after Welshman Dai Greene landed the team's first world championships gold less than a year before the London Olympics.
Gold had slipped through British fingers earlier in the championships when 10,000 metres favourite Mo Farah and defending heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis had to settle for silver.
British 400m hurdler Eilidh Child, who finished sixth in her heat, had even suggested the lack of success could be a positive.
“We’ve had a few disappointments but if anything it has brought us closer together. It might actually be a blessing in disguise not winning medals here because there were a lot of guys with a lot of pressure on them,” she said. “Not winning here might mean less pressure in London.”
That stoical line was instantly forgotten, however, the moment Greene dipped over the line.
“Greene and England in medal glory,” a media release issued by UK Athletics said, shortly after Greene’s win, also referring to Hannah England’s silver medal in the women’s 1,500m.
The athlete, himself, was overjoyed.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, to be honest,” he said. “I love representing Great Britain and when I get back to the village tonight I will realise that this is a dream come true. I’ve got great support staff around me and with the GB camp we have great support staff out here as well. Everything in my life is geared towards being the best athlete I can and my confidence comes from knowing I put the hard work in every day of the year. It’s a lot easier to put in the hard winter when you’ve got a gold medal on the mantlepiece – I’ve got three from three from the last three championships and I want to complete the set next year.”
Greene’s triumph could yet prove to be a catalyst for more British alchemy in Daegu. Farah is again favourite, this time for the 5,000m and Phillips Idowu is favourite to retain his triple jump title.
The United States also flexed their muscles yesterday, harvesting three of the six titles on offer. Lashinda Demus in the 400m hurdles, 1,500m runner Jenny Simpson and high jumper Jesse Williams lifted the US to the top of the medals table.
