• London Olympics 2012

Gemili will run at London 2012

ESPN staff
June 26, 2012
Adam Gemili has taken the UK sprinting scene by storm in 2012 © Getty Images
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Adam Gemili has confirmed he will run at both the World Junior Championships and the Olympics this summer.

The 18-year-old sprinter secured his qualification as one of Great Britain's 100m entries by finishing second in the UK trials over the weekend, and he had already posted a time of 10.08 seconds this year.

Gemili's 'A' standard time, set in Germany last month, made him the second fastest European this year and he is now determined to test himself to the maximum this summer.

"My plan is to go to the Olympics and compete with the world's top sprinters and not get beaten too badly," Gemili told BBC Radio Kent.

"I've got two weeks until the World Juniors [in Barcelona] so I'm just going to get my head down and train hard for that," he continued. "That was my aim for this year until I ran 10.08secs and the Olympics became a possibility.

"After that it's all focused on the Olympics."

Gemili's coach Michael Afilaka had raised concerns about the youngster's ability to cope with the pressure, and Gemili admitted his achievement in qualifying for this summer's games had come as something of a surprise.

"It took a while to sink in," he said. "The night after I ran I didn't get to sleep until three in the morning. I just couldn't believe it. It was a new feeling for me.

"People train their whole lives to do it. I'm lucky that I've come into athletics at the right time and I've qualified.

"I'm an 18-year-old and I've qualified for the Olympic Games, so to be picked at this age in front of all the sprinters in the whole country feels amazing."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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