Athletics: Ex-Olympic and world champion excited by Team GB relay sprinters
By Dev Trehan
Last Updated: 26/12/14 7:36am
Former world and Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sally Gunnell is excited by the potential of the Team GB women’s 4 x 100m relay squad.
Jodie Williams, Asha Philip, Ashleigh Nelson and Desiree Henry broke the British record when they claimed European Championships gold in a time of 42.24 seconds in Zurich earlier this year.
And two-time Sportswoman of the Year winner Gunnell believes Britain’s relay girls, who broke the record again 11 days after the Championships, are capable of competing with the world’s best.
“I am really excited for the relay girls, not just as a team, but as individuals,” Gunnell told Sky Sports. “They’ve got great talent and a great future ahead of them.
“I’m excited about what they can do for the relay event because they aspire to be the best in the world. When I look at Jodie and the sprinter girls, I look at a group of girls who have got something.
“The four of five of them in that team are so talented and are running such great times and they’re helping each other along. That’s what it is all about. It’s not about fighting or competing with one another it’s about working together as a team.”
Williams also has her sights set on the 200m at next year’s World Championships after failing to reach the final at the 2013 showpiece in Moscow.
“I’ve worked really hard this year and hit a lot of marks which I didn’t hit last year so hopefully I will run even faster next year but we will have to wait and see,” the 21-year-old said.
“I will probably do some sort of indoor season but not a major one. There are European U23s coming up as well as the World Championships. I’d love to give the World Champs another go because 2013 didn’t go as planned. Hopefully 2015 will go a lot better.”
But Williams, who is a former world and European junior sprint champion, is under no illusion about the scale of the task that lies ahead.
“A lot of people underestimate how big the step up from European to world level is,” the Hertfordshire Phoenix athlete said.
“In sprinting the Americans and the Caribbean athletes are leading so it is definitely a step up, but I think the strides we have made this year will see us being competitive with those guys next year.”
