Team GB must improve on Doha World Athletics Championship showing, says performance director Neil Black
Last Updated: 07/10/19 6:53am
Performance director Neil Black has admitted Great Britain must improve after their worst medal return at the World Athletics Championships since 2005.
The squad leave Doha with five medals - including Dina Asher-Smith's hat-trick - to fall short of their seven-to-nine target.
Asher-Smith won 200m gold, 100m silver and 4x100m relay silver, while Katarina Johnson-Thompson triumphed in the heptathlon and the men's 4x100m relay team also won silver.
"It could be better, it should be better," Black said. "We'll obviously be talking with UK Sport. Our relationship with UK Sport is really positive.
"It's working together, it's reviewing, planning, what have we learned, what are we going to do about it, how do we convert the 'nearlys' into medals?
"There's a lot to feel really, really good about. There's a lot to feel really, really positive about.
"But the reality is the medal tally is not that which we would have wanted and expected."
The team almost took home six medals only for the women's 4x400m relay squad to miss out after late drama at the Khalifa International Stadium on Sunday.
Jamaica, who finished third, were initially disqualified after it was ruled they lined up in the wrong place for their second changeover.
It promoted the Great Britain team of Zoey Clark, Emily Diamond, Jodie Williams and Laviai Nielsen to bronze after they came fourth - but Jamaica were reinstated on appeal and the British counter-appeal was dismissed.
A medal ceremony was held for winners the USA and second-placed Poland without Jamaica while a final decision was still being made.
