London 2012 Olympics: coach ready to pull Adam Gemili out of Games - Daily Telegraph
"I’m talking about being mentally burned, not physically burned. I mean, you have a number of British athletes that do well on their own but sprinkle a couple of Americans in the mix and they can go blank. The development of any athlete is not just physical, it’s mental as well.
"I’m not saying we’re not going to go to London. I’m just saying right now the priority is the World Junior Championships and then we’ll adjust accordingly.”
Afilaka gave an indication of just how much Gemili still has to learn in the most pressurised of arenas as he outlined how drained the youngster was after booking his place.
Gemili had been scheduled to run in yesterday’s 200m but Afilka said: "The higher the intensity of the competition, the more demanding it is on the emotions. If you’d seen him in the evening after the race, he was an emotional wreck. Without even asking him there’s no way he could do the 200. You’ve got to be very sensible."
Gemili will tomorrow be named for the 100m and possibly the 200m for the world juniors in Barcelona in a fortnight’s time and would be favoured to win medals in both events.
The event had been his target all year until his remarkable 10.08sec run in Germany at the start of the month, a time which has still only been bettered by one European Christophe Lemaitre this season, hurtled him into the world’s top 30.
Afilaka understands that, naturally, Gemili wants to run in London, especially because it is a home Games but he feels that the location “actually makes no difference whatsoever, it’s irrelevant” and that the pressure imposed by the Games remains the same wherever it is staged.
"I’m very clear what the competition is at the Olympics. It’s brutal. From getting kitted out to walking into the Olympic stadium, it’s very unforgiving. I’ve been there, I’ve seen it. He’s not just a young kid, he’s young to athletics and we’ve got to manage that.
"Yes, he wants to go. I want to too but I’m too fat! The priority at the moment is 9.45pm, July 11th, final of the men’s 100m at the world juniors. And then we’ll take a measure."
Meanwhile, another 18-year-old sprint sensation Delano Williams, the Jamaican schoolboy from the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) who had travelled 4,500 miles to seek selection, failed in his audacious bid, beaten by an injury, cold weather and the worst start imaginable in the 200m final.
After qualifying as a fast loser for the final despite another woeful start in his heat and struggling with a groin problem, Williams, who was unable to compete for TCI because this British Overseas Territory is not recognised by Olympic chiefs, was saddled with an inside lane draw and then got stuck in his blocks. But despite only finishing seventh in 20.91sec, the man tipped in Jamaica to be another big sprint star, kept smiling and promised to be back.
"In 2016, I want to come back and do something special. Making the final here was a great experience for me.
"I’ve loved it here but sometimes it gets too cold for me! But I did my best. I will go back to my school in Jamaica on Tuesday, because, as a prefect, I have duties and responsibilities as a prefect to take care of back home."
And if he is fit enough, he will be looking forward to possibly competing against Gemili in the 200m at the World Junior Championships, this time proudly wearing the colours of the TCI.
London calling to Adam: Games needs teenage sprint ace Gemili, but still he won’t commit - Daily Mail
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The poster boy of the Olympic trials waltzed into the history books with an impossibly white-teethed smile that will illuminate London this summer.
Unfortunately, it was a scene from the American equivalent of the selection process that was taking place under leaden skies in Birmingham over the weekend.
The star was a 24-year-old decathlete called Ashton Eaton, who set a world record of 9,039 points. This former college phenomenon with podium-topping confidence to burn presented himself as the box-office hit for American track and field.
Golden boy: Ashton Eaton broke the world record in the men's decathlon
QUALIFIERS SO FAR
WOMEN: Sophie Hitchon (hammer), Christine Ohuruogu and Shana Cox (400m), Tiffany Porter and Jessica Ennis (100m hurdles), Shara Proctor (long jump), Goldie Sayers (javelin), Perri Shakes-Drayton and Eilidh Child (400m hurdles), Eilish McColgan (3,000m steeplechase), Laura Weightman (1500m), Holly Bleasdale and Kate Dennison (pole vault), Jo Pavey (5,000m), Margaret Adeoye and Anyika Onuora (200m).
MEN: Steve Lewis (pole vault), Greg Rutherford (long jump), Dai Greene and Jack Green (400m hurdles), Andy Baddeley and Ross Murray (1500m), Adam Gemili (100m), Robbie Grabarz (high jump), Nick McCormick (5,000m), Martyn Rooney and Conrad Williams (400m), James Ellington and Christian Malcolm (200m), Lawrence Okoye (discus), Andrew Osagie (800m), Andrew Pozzi and Lawrence Clarke (110m hurdles).
Five thousand miles away from Eugene, Oregon, at the Alexander Stadium, Walsall Road, Birmingham, there were a few hundred empty seats in the 10,000-capacity arena. What the Midlands would have given for a jaw-dropping British hero.
Jessica Ennis was here but not competing in her chief Olympic endeavour, the heptathlon; Mo Farah selfishly withdrew from the 1500 metres after winning his heat with scant regard for the paying punter; and contrary triple jumper Phillips Idowu was absent, either malingering or injured.
Into that void galloped 18-year-old Adam Gemili, the Londoner of Moroccan-Iranian descent, who despite coming second on Saturday to Dwain Chambers is the only Briton who has qualified for the Olympic 100m.
So given his raw talent, having taken up full-time sprint training only last autumn, what debate could there possibly be about his participation in the first home Games this country has staged since soap rationing was scrapped?
Question mark: Adam Gemili has not yet committed to running at the Olympics
Over to Michael Afilaka, his coach, who said Gemili was ‘an emotional wreck’ on Saturday evening after competing with the big boys. ‘We’ll make the decision on whether he goes to the Olympics later on, maybe this week,’ he explained.
‘The thing you’ve got to remember is this is a young kid and everyone is getting carried away. It’s not about the world juniors (in Barcelona mid-July) versus the Olympics. It’s always been about the world juniors for us. This is just a bonus.
‘You’ve got to be sensible and it’s my job to make sure we set it up fine. If we go for it, it’s got to be in line with the original plan and as part of his development.’
Asked if it was not a win-win situation, Afilaka said: ‘No. We have an issue with good young kids who just don’t develop. If you throw him into the cauldron of the Olympics and he gets burned he might never recover. Being a home Olympics makes no difference. It’s brutal. From getting kitted out to walking into the Olympic Stadium, and it’s very unforgiving. It’s not about grabbing the chance. He’s not just a young kid; he’s young to athletics and we’ve got to manage that.’
Double act: Dwain Chambers and Gemili could represent Team GB
Afilaka’s concerns are understandable but you could turn his argument on its head. God forbid, but Gemili’s career could be finished by this time next year, let alone when the Rio Olympics come round four years from now.
Why deny him that chance? I cite Daley Thompson, as garlanded a decathlete as Eaton dreams of being. He was picked for the Montreal Olympics of 1976, aged 17. He finished 18th but said: ‘I wouldn’t have won in Moscow four years later if I hadn’t gone to Montreal with the experience it gave me.’
Ironically, the cast of non-qualified athletes who go to the European Championships in Helsinki in a final attempt to meet the required standard would not be dawdling over whether to go as Gemili’s people are. He could race against Usain Bolt. He could make the semi-final.
The sport, too, would benefit from the excitement his emergence in the purest, most electrifying of Olympic disciplines would generate. The 800 athletes competing here comprised the biggest entrance since 1972. But, still, athletics, pushed to the edge of TV schedules and struggling for crowds, owes it to itself to build on the momentum triggered by this Olympic frenzy.
Done it: James Ellington celebrates winning the men's 200m final at the trials
What else have we learned this weekend? First, we were reminded that trials which are not a sudden-death shootout, in the way the American and Jamaican systems are, lack knife-edge drama.
Conclusions on form were hard to establish. The wind was swirly, the temperature low. It was not conducive to fast times. Take world champion Dai Greene’s 49.47sec in winning the 400m hurdles, though his personal best is 47.88sec.
He was our only serious gold medal hope to compete here, at least in his favoured discipline, and not too perturbed by his performance. He goes to Diamond League meetings in Paris and London believing he will run faster and find focus in quicker company. For others, the ultimate importance of the trials was palpable. None more so than James Ellington, who placed himself on eBay to find a sponsor, namely King of Shaves.
‘The best day of my life,’ declared the heavily tattooed entrepreneur after winning the 200m and becoming the 33rd athlete to secure his selection in the weekend. ‘It’s what every athlete dreams of: winning the National Championships in Olympic year.’ Now for London. Gemili included, please.
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London 2012: Proctor and Bleasdale break records to qualify - BBC News
Long jumper Shara Proctor and pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale set new British records to seal their places in Britain's London 2012 team on a dramatic final day at the Olympic Trials.
Young guns Andy Pozzi and Lawrence Clarke held off world bronze medallist Andy Turner in a thrilling 110m hurdles to bag their own two automatic places while Martyn Rooney beat Conrad Williams in a tight 400m and Robbie Grabarz took the high jump as all three qualified for London.
James Ellington snatched the 200m, Lawrence Okoye the discus and 38-year-old Jo Pavey the 10,000m to join them in the GB squad.
At the other end of her career, 21-year-old Eilish McColgan - daughter of 1991 world 10,000m champion Liz - will go to her first Olympics after winning the 3,000m steeplechase.
With athletes finishing in the top two in their events while also possessing the relevant 'A' standard guaranteed selection for London it was a nervy, frenetic afternoon with the cold conditions far from ideal for big performances.
Proctor and Bleasdale made a mockery of both occasion and weather.
Bleasdale has struggled outdoors this year after clearing a remarkable 4.87m indoors in January and had two failures at both 4.40m and 4.50m before clearing 4.71m at her second attempt.
"Today was the first competition I've put a new technique into place, and I felt like I was flying," she revealed afterwards. "I feel like I can go much, much higher."
I can vault much higher - Bleasdale
Proctor, watched in the stands by both Mary Rand and Lynn Davies, Britain's 1964 Olympic long jump champions, put together an impressive series which peaked with her third round 6.95m to beat Bev Kinch's 29-year-old mark by five centimetres.
Proctor was born on the Caribbean island of Anguilla but now competes for Britain because her homeland is a British Overseas Territory and so does not have its own Olympic team.
She said: "I'm just on top of the world right now. I got the British record, I'm going to the Olympics - how good can it get?
"It was not good conditions but I said to myself that London might be like this so I have to prepare and do my best, no matter."
Three athletes went beyond 6.63m in a high-class competition, with Lorraine Ugen a tantalising one centimetre shy of the 'A' standard of 6.75m in second and Jazmin Sawyers nailing a personal best of 6.64 (the longest jump by junior in the world this year) for third.
But it was less fruitful for Jessica Ennis, who recorded just one proper mark of 6.27m after fouling twice and running through the remainder.
Jessica Ennis“I'm obviously disappointed with the long jump, just because I didn't quite have my rhythm right on the runway and I'm not jumping what I'm capable of”
Ennis won both high jump and 100m hurdles on Saturday in classy fashion but with the long jump a strong event for current heptathlon world champion Tatytana Chernova this was a more chastening performance.
She told BBC Sport: "I'm obviously disappointed with the long jump, just because I didn't quite have my rhythm right on the runway and I'm not jumping what I'm capable of.
"Generally the weekend has been good - I'm pretty happy with the way things are going. I think I'm in good shape and that's shown with my performances so far."
Training partners Pozzi and Clarke, coached by Colin Jackson's old mentor Malcolm Arnold, have both clocked the 'A' standard multiple times this summer.
And a week after Arnold - also coach to 400m hurdles pair Dai Greene and Jack Green - was made an OBE, they marked a changing of the guard in pushing Turner and world championship finalist Will Sharman into third and fourth.
Twenty-year-old Pozzi came through to take his first senior title in 13.41 with Clarke four hundredths of a second back and Turner - who is likely to take the third, discretionary place - a further metre down.
Pozzi seals Olympic spot with 110m win
Grabarz is just one centimetre off the world leading jump this year, and although his winning clearance of 2.28m was seven centimetres below his season's best, he will go to London as a genuine medal contender.
He said: "It was a really good win. It was not as high as I'd have liked to jump, but I think the excitement at having my first national title and qualifying for the Games was why."
Margaret Adeoye won the 200m to secure her place at the games along with Anyika Onuora who finished second.
Christian Malcolm took second behind Ellington's 20.56 secs 200m win, the veteran Welshman qualifying for his fourth Olympics in the process, and world indoor bronze medallist Andrew Osagie underlined his fine form by easing away from Muktar Mohammed and Michael Rimmer to take the 800m.
Perri Shakes-Drayton took advantage of a stutter from Eilidh Child on the final flight of the 400m hurdles to retain her national title as both athletes booked their places in the squad, while the Steve Cram-coached Laura Weightman produced a last lap of 58.42 secs to destroy the 1500m field and do the same.
And Goldie Sayers secured her 10th successive national javelin title to qualify for her third successive Olympics, albeit with a throw six metres down on her season's best.
But while 5,000m runner-up Nick McCormick will be joining her, the man who beat him, Ross Millington, must secure the 'A' standard of 13 mins 20 secs before 1 July to qualify.
Athletes who have qualified for Team GB:
Women :
Shrara Proctor (long jump)
Holly Bleasdale & Kate Dennison (pole vault)
Perry Shakes-Drayton & Eilidh Child (400m hurdles)
Laura Weightman (1500m)
Margaret Adeoye & Anyika Onoura (200m)
Jo Pavey (10,000m)
Christine Ohuruogu & Shana Cox (400m)
Jessica Ennis (Heptathlon and 100m hurdles - Ennis will be entered for the hurdles as a back-up to the heptathlon)
Tiffany Porter (100m hurdles)
Sophie Hitchon (Hammer)
Goldie Sayers (Javelin)
Men:
Robbie Grabarz (High jump)
Martyn Rooney & Conrad Williams (400m)
James Ellington & Christian Malcom (200m)
Andrew Osagie (800m)
Andy Pozzi & Lawrence Clarke (110m hurdle)
Dai Greene & Jack Green (400m hurdles)
Adam Gemili (100m)
Greg Rutherford (Long jump)
Steve Lewis (pole vault)
Andy Baddeley and Ross Murray (1500m)
Lawrence Okoye (Discus)
Nick McCormick (5,000m)
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