Adam Gemili reveals he ‘basically quit’ athletics and considered football return after ‘stressful’ 2022

Published 27/02/2023 at 11:07 GMT

British sprinter Adam Gemili has opened up on how close he came to walking away from athletics and returning to football at the end of last year after a disappointing 2022. After suffering an injury at the delayed Tokyo Olympics, Gemili struggled for performance last year as he had underwhelming results at the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games.

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Adam Gemili has revealed he “basically quit” athletics last year after disappointing results at last year’s World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games.

Gemili failed to get beyond the heats of the 200m in Oregon and was eliminated at the semi-final stage in Birmingham, before being dropped from UK Athletics’ top funding level in November.

The sprinter was European champion in 2014, finished fourth at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and was part of the 4x100m relay team that won gold at the World Championships in 2017, before his form dipped in the last two years.

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“I basically quit the sport, I didn't have any interest,” Gemili said at the World Indoor Tour final.

“I didn't enjoy getting up and training. I hated it and that was because of all the stressful stuff which was going on. The mental part of it plays such a big part.”

Gemili was previously a footballer, having been part of Chelsea’s youth academy and then-League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge.

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He turned to athletics in 2012 but was set to make a return to football this year, before a change of mind.

“I was going back to football,” the 29-year-old explained. “Football was what I came from originally, so that was one of the options for me.

“I reached out to a few clubs and they said, ‘Come and do some training with us’. There were a couple of clubs that I was going to go and train with and then hopefully maybe go back to that. I can’t say the clubs, but one was in the Championship and one in League One.

“It was a case of, ‘Do I quit and go back to football and try it? Maybe make a bit of money and enjoy my last few years of sport? Or do I commit to this?’

“I sat down with my family and friends and we decided I’ve still got a lot more I want to give in this sport. I’ve still got unfinished business.

“I’ve come fourth at the Olympics and the World Championships. I’ve always been close and I believe if I can get myself in shape, I can run with the best.”

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Athletics