Adam Gemili: Team GB will come of age at London 2017 World Championships

The future's bright: Gemili just missed out on a medal in the 200m final
Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Britain’s sprinters will be ready to take on the world and cause a stir at London 2017, according to Adam Gemili.

The Kent 200m runner suffered heartache as he finished in fourth place just three-thousandths of a second from Olympic bronze to France’s Christophe Lemaitre last night as Usain Bolt blazed a trail in front of them.

But Gemili said he and Britain’s current crop of speed men would all be in medal contention come next year’s World Championships in the capital. “To go out there tonight and show that GB can challenge the best in the world for medals tonight and especially at the Olympics is great,” said Gemili.

“The way we’re going at the moment by the time London comes around it would be great to get three Brits in the sprint finals in the 100m and 200m, and that’s what we’re working towards.”

Bolt has hinted that if he does run on after Rio — and there is still some conjecture that he might not — he will only run the 100m in London next year at the Olympic Stadium.

And Gemili added: “Usain Bolt’s such a big figure in the sport and he’ll be missed.

“Obviously he’s saying this will be his last Olympics so it opens up a gap for a lot of people like myself and a lot of people especially in Britain: Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Zharnel Hughes, Danny Talbot, and CJ Ujah.

“There’s a lot of guys coming through but it’s all to play for and we’re going to have a lot of good battles in the years to come.

In Pictures: Team GB's medal run at Rio 2016 Olympics

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“It’s going to be exciting to be a part of.”

The usually-smiling Gemili cut a disconsolate figure after missing out on the bronze medal by the most minuscule of margins. “I’m gutted,” said the 22-year-old.

“It’s probably the worst way to go out is fourth place and went down to thousandths.

“I gave it my all, I literally gave it everything.

“It wasn’t enough. If it was just me out there but I’ve got a great team behind me.

“We all put in such hard work and I wanted to get that medal not just for myself but for everyone.

“I couldn’t quite do it today. It’s hard to take, it’s going to take a little while to get over that I think.”

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