2 May 2015

On the eve of the World Relays, Richard Kilty (coach: Linford Christie) is backing his Great Britain and Northern team mates to be a success in the Bahamas.

The world and European indoor 60m champion has been an integral part of the men’s 4x100m quartet in 2014, culminating with European gold in Zurich and silver in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games.

The 2015 edition of the newly formed World Relays sees a number of new faces to the relay ranks with the likes of Roy Ejiakuekwu (Rana Reider) and Sean Safo-Antwi (Jonas Tawiah-Dodoo) joining James Ellington (Christie), Danny Talbot (Dan Cossins) and Andy Robertson (Cossins).

Indeed, Kilty is confident of securing a top eight finish inside the Thomas Robinson Stadium on Saturday evening to cement a place at the 2016 Olympics.

“Last year we run sub 38 twice and I think if we can run that sort of time again we can definitely push for a medal,” he said.

“The Jamaicans and the Americans have got really strong teams, we’ve got a few guys missing but we are still pretty confident we can go out there and get a medal.

“I think if we put out our strongest team I think we can get up there and challenge. We’ve got some good guys coming through now. I think with the talent we have got we can get up there and challenge.”

With the individual outdoor season only a few weeks away, the 25-year-old is targeting a strong summer campaign.

“I’ve now linked back up with Linford Christie and we are focussing to try and have some success outdoors over 100 and 200,” he admitted.

“That is the main focus for me now after winning the European and world indoors.

“The last three years have been very successful, it’s been a big breakthrough for me in the 60 metres and the relays.”

Coverage of the World Relays will be available through @BritAthletics and on the BBC red button and iPlayer.