15 August 2012

Adam Gemili (coach: Michael Afilaka) has confirmed that he will run in the 200m at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix at the Alexander Stadium on Sunday 26 August – his first Samsung Diamond League appearance in this country.

The 18-year-old reached the semi-finals of the 100m at the Olympic Games in London with only four hundredths of a second separating the talented teenager from a place in the Olympic final. Despite coming so close to making the final, Gemili was more than satisfied with his performance.

"The Olympics was an amazing experience for me. I never thought in my wildest dreams that in eight months, I would go from playing non-league football to representing my country in the biggest sporting event in the world – the Olympic Games.”

Gemili has enjoyed a meteoric rise after deciding to turn his focus from football to athletics in January, having previously played as a right back for non-league Thurrock FC. His decision to focus on athletics paid dividends as he was crowned World Junior Champion in July – recording a personal best of 10.05 seconds – taking him to seventh in the all-time British rankings.

Despite his achievements, Gemili isn’t getting ahead of himself and is excited by the prospect of competing at the highest level over the next few years with Rio 2016 firmly in his sights. 

"To compete in front of a capacity home crowd against the best athletes in the world gave me a real taste of what’s to come in the next few years. To walk out to the roars of 80,000 people cheering you on is something I’ll never forget.”

In the meantime, Gemili is looking forward to being part of a world-class field at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix on Sunday 26 August. Gemili will be up against an all star line-up which includes Olympic finalists Ryan Bailey, Churandy Martina and Wallace Spearmon as well as relay teammate Christian Malcolm (Dan Pfaff), who reached the semi-finals of the 200m in London.

"The Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix will give me another opportunity to race against some of the guys that I went up against in the Olympic Games, and this is something I am relishing.

“It’ll be my first appearance in the Samsung Diamond League, and I’m really looking forward to walking out in front of another sell-out crowd in Birmingham and running a strong 200m.”

Competing over 200m is a relatively new experience for Gemili, but after running 20.61 in Bedford in June, the 18 year old is looking forward to making his mark over the longer distance.  
 
"There are going to be some 200m specialists out on the track, but I am keen to show that I can make that transition from the 100m and compete against the best.
 
"Make no mistake, it will be a fiercely contested race, but I’m more than capable of rising to the occasion and showing a glimpse of what is to come from me in the next few years."

Back the team and watch the world’s best athletes in action at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium on 26 August. Live coverage on BBC1 from 1.30-5pm.