Jack: I’m delighted for Dai, but I want my turn in the spotlight

While the rest of us were on the edge of our seats, nails bitten to the bed, watching Dai Greene power through to World Championship gold out in Daegu this summer, there was another Green who was not so jubilant.

Dai’s namesake (well, almost), Jack Green, was watching the 400m hurdles final from the commentary box, having disappointingly missed out on qualification to join his training partner in the final.

Of course Green was delighted for his friend, but neither Dai’s achievement nor that fact he was sharing the box with one of his heroes, Michael Johnson, could hide the fact that he felt he missed a huge opportunity to make the final in his first senior major championships.

“Daegu was a great experience and something I can really learn from,” he said. “But I’m not going to lie, I wanted more.

“It was a huge positive that although I really wanted to go, it was never the main focus, the be-all-and-end-all. I was off my peak and we expected me not to run terribly quick, but as an athlete you also enter a competition thinking you can win, so from that sense, it was disappointing.

“But it’s invaluable to have that senior competition experience going into an Olympics, because I’ve already had that taste now, I’ve already been dropped into the deep end. Come the Olympics, I’ll be ready now.

“But obviously it was great seeing Dai do what he did and it was made even better by the fact I was up in the commentary box with Michael Johnson, so I had a great view of the race.

“He’s worked really hard and thoroughly deserves it. I didn’t doubt him at any point and thankfully he came through. He’s a great guy and a top athlete, and I couldn’t be happier for him.

“Having said that, anyone who knows me, knows that I speak my mind, and I’m not afraid to say that I want people to stop concentrating on Dai, and more on me. I’ve got Dai Greene training with me and I want what he’s got. That’ll show me that I’m one of the best. That’s my aim.”

Green’s appearance in South Korea was just six weeks after he took gold at the European Under 23 Championships in Ostrava.

Only a week before that, the Kent-runner set a new personal best of 48.98secs at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix, a time which was seven tenths of a second off Greene’s winning time in Daegu.

And Green admits that alongside his coach Malcolm Arnold, they had decided to focus on the age-group championships, rather than put all energy into South Korea.

He said: “I ran a PB at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix, just before the Euros, so I knew things were in a good place. What Malcolm’s brilliant at is making me peak at the right time.

“The only thing with that is that you can’t keep a peak going, which is such a shame as I really felt I could have run a bit quicker and made the final in Daegu. But that’s what you have to do in sport, prioritise.”

But Green, who alongside his Aviva GB & NI teammate and runner-up in Ostrava Nathan Woodward, has been elevated to podium level National Lottery funding and is adamant that Britain is now a force to be reckoned with in the 400m hurdles and refuses to rule out two Brits being on the podium next summer at the London Olympics.

“I put myself under more pressure than anyone, so I don’t really mind what anyone else says,” added Green. “I’m just over the moon to get the funding, it’s just a huge relief. 

“It’s fantastic to see Nathan get the funding as well. We both had a great year this year, with some top battles and I'm sure he won’t be easing up on training and will be out to get me after I beat him in the Europeans.

“He’s got a lot of motivation, but then again so have I, as I expected to be in that World final in Daegu, which frustratingly I wasn’t.”