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Adam Gemili to run, not fight al-Qaeda - Charles van Commenee

Last updated on .From the section Olympicscomments25

Adam Gemili

UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee has played down concerns about teenage sprinter Adam Gemili competing at this summer's Olympic Games.

Gemili, 18, as well as in the World Junior Championships.

However, his coach Michael Afilaka had described him as an "emotional wreck".

But Van Commenee said: "I am not sending my 12-year-old niece to fight al-Qaeda. We are going to the Games. It's fun."

He added: "I didn't see an emotional wreck, just a happy 18-year-old young man who's very level-headed.

"A lot of people in athletics make it sound as if they are living a hard life, as if they have to go to the coal mines in Azerbaijan every morning or maybe have to work for the Daily Mail every day. That's what I call tough. We are doing sport, something fun. Sometimes athletes and coaches forget that.

"When we send an 18-year-old to the Games obviously we look after him, there are things in place so that UKA looks after the welfare of athletes. It's a duty, we do that always.

"We have a great support team and that's every day. It's 365 days a year. If someone melts down on Christmas I'm sure we have something in place. It's what we do."

Gemili is a former Chelsea FC trainee, who was a right-back on loan from Dagenham & Redbridge at Thurrock in the Ryman Premier Division at the start of this year before switching full-time to athletics.

Last month he ran the 100m in 10.08 seconds - the second fastest time in Europe this year, and has announced his intention to compete in both the World Junior Championships (from 10-15 July in Barcelona) and the London Games, where the athletics programme gets under way on 3 August.

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

Van Commenee believes the experience will stand the young athlete in good stead.

"He is a happy young man who is looking forward to being at the greatest sporting event in the world," he added. "The World Juniors has always been his main focus but one doesn't exclude the other.

"The World Juniors was always important to him and you also have to learn how to win, or to medal. I would say any competition helps to build a better athlete. The (Olympic) trials is a good example. It was very useful for him to race there with seven big men next to him.

"Obviously he is talented but it takes more than only talent to become a star. The word talent is usually used in a physical sense. The difference will be the ability to overcome difficulties, making the right decisions, how injury-prone is he, will he make the sacrifices? It remains to be seen, but physically he has really good tools."

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  • Comment posted by s_divx, at 14:08 27 Jun 2012

    look at the crap advise Mark L-F got as a teenager - he missed his chance through bad advice from the experts. When it comes to racing, you never know when you have run your fastest race, therefore you should embrace every opportunity you have. As for AG - I would be looking for another coach - why complicate things simply to look important or knowledgeable (justify his fee maybe)

  • Comment posted by User0428356557, at 13:16 27 Jun 2012

    CVC was spot on with his comments about Facebook and Twitter last year and he's spot on again talking about Gemili.

  • Comment posted by jay, at 15:36 27 Jun 2012

    There will be a whole bunch of girls years younger than him competing in the games, in the gymnastics which is far more gruelling than 100m sprint.

  • Comment posted by DonDraper, at 11:15 28 Jun 2012

    I hope they don't put him on the same training schedule as Harry AA and Mark LF. They are so muscle bound and overweight it is ridiculous. They stood out as oddities last night as leaner, lighter men ran quicker.

  • Comment posted by Alun Rees, at 14:08 27 Jun 2012

    @10 What CVC siad Gemili, 18, "I am not sending my 12-year-old niece to fight al-Qaeda. We are going to the Games. It's fun." does not match the headlines. So agree with you there. Once again the BBC reporting is incompetant!!!

  • Comment posted by User0362788341, at 11:14 27 Jun 2012

    Why is it some coaches say, if they`re good enough they`re old enough, Tom Daly?, then other coaches take young footballers to tournaments & ignore them. If his coach hasn`t got confidence in him he needs a new coach! Surely he`s had the knocks in professional football, Let him run, Let him learn, He has earned the right, I hope he has fun, he has nothing to lose, only to gain from the experience.

  • Comment posted by D1679162048130, at 19:11 27 Jun 2012

    I think CVC put things in perspective by making it clear this is a fantastic opportunity. Gemili should be livid with his coach for a public portrayal of him as an "emotional wreck". Strange PR! Of course he was going to be highly excited once the reality of his achievement sank in. He should gain some confidence too from the times at today's European semis. Poor MLF.

  • Comment posted by Haunts12, at 12:47 27 Jun 2012

    The title to this article is pretty questionable imho.

    Kid seems to have talent and a home Olympic games will surely allow him the stage to push himself without any cast-iron expectations of making the final.

  • Comment posted by More Like It, at 19:03 27 Jun 2012

    glad he is running - some athletes never get the chance to compete in Olympics due to injury problems, he is right to take this opportunity now as the future is unknown.

    don't get the "emotional wreck" comments from his coach

  • Comment posted by Alex, at 12:09 27 Jun 2012

    How refreshing Charles van Commenee is to sport. All we ever seem to hear is 'they aren't fit enough' etc etc. It's only sport. And Charles is right - they should enjoy it.

  • Comment posted by TLove, at 11:19 27 Jun 2012

    The more I hear from Van Commenee the more I rate him. He speaks a lot of sense. As an 18 year old with absolutely nothing to lose Gemili is not under that much pressure and has the chance to enjoy his first ever Olympics in his home country. He'll have the time of his life and gain a lot of experience from it.

    The headline on the other hand is pretty childish.

  • Comment posted by User0095594313, at 10:54 27 Jun 2012

    It seems strange that would ever be a possibilty that he wouldn't go to the Olympics, there's no pressure on him, and it would be great experience.

    The only real pressure would be if he was picked in the 4x100 relay squad, but I doubt they would.

  • Comment posted by User0459121666, at 12:22 27 Jun 2012

    Blimey,a sports coach talking sense! He doesn't need counselling or resting,he wants to run,he's good enough to run,he should run. Cricket/Football coaches please take note.

  • Comment posted by D1679162048130, at 18:41 28 Jun 2012

    @dondraper: absolutely agree – they look so heavy and rigid. They look more like machines that hit a speed limit. It's so obvious that it must be a big contributor to their decline. Why have their coaches not addressed it, knowing that both have the basic speed in them?

  • Comment posted by RandomChap, at 14:23 27 Jun 2012

    The Olympics is the highest stage an athlete can compete on, and having the chance to compete at one in your own country is a once-in-a-career opportunity. What on earth is a coach doing suggesting a qualified athlete should not go? I know the athlete is young and inexperienced, but what an opportunity.

  • Comment posted by Rays a Larf, at 11:51 27 Jun 2012

    Mein Gott, I ran the old 100yds in a straight 10secs back in 1959 (18yrs old) &I thought I was in with a chance of getting to the White City. The feeling of doing a time and achievemet is totalling exhilerating & the prospect of further achievments really pumps one up. Goodluck to the guy & I think he will make a name for himself, Im right behind him albeit by 11yds, justkeep his feet on the floor

  • Comment posted by deleted, at 13:27 27 Jun 2012

    @12 - I agree that some athletes will have more pressure on them. They'll be the ones that will have a good chance of winning - Farah, Ennis, Idowu etc. But they can cope with that. They are very experienced athletes and I think a home crowd will help rather than hinder.

    Gemili isn't expected to win. If he gets anywhere near the final that will be amazing. But he'll learn so much being there.

  • Comment posted by FS1978, at 12:55 27 Jun 2012

    Not sure about the title of this article at all. According the article at no point to CVC make any such comment about al- Queada. Other than that, what CVC says make perfect sense to me.

  • Comment posted by User0517922561, at 18:14 27 Jun 2012

    RE post #8 - He played in the chelsea youth levels, and I think I am right in saying he actually turned down professional terms there in order to concentrate on his GCSE's and then A-Levels.

    As a player he was OK. Nothing amazing, but like you say, absolutely rapid!

  • Comment posted by User0209612644, at 12:32 27 Jun 2012

    Agree the headline is pretty bad taste. I think the "as if they have to go to the coal mines in Azerbaijan every morning or maybe have to work for the Daily Mail every day" line is much funnier!

    PS Have any posters seen Gemili on a football pitch? He must have been abolutely lightning at that level! Any chance of a return the game down the line?

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