Tuesday, 1 March 2016

Richard Kilty missing World Indoors to prepare for Rio Olympics instead

Reigning World indoor champion Richard Kilty will not defend his 60m title in Portland, Oregon later this month and will instead choose to focus on the Rio Olympics.

Richard Kilty, Men's 60m heats, UK Indoor Athletic Championships, EIS Sheffield, Feb 2016

Falling foul of a false start in the final of the 60m, Kilty was disqualified from a shot at James Dasaolu who eventually won and earned a trip to Portland.  Initially UK Athletics were keen on him defending his title alongside Dasaolu, but Kilty has decided instead to start his outdoor training early.

"Whilst this has been a really tough decision, looking at the big picture it's the smart call," he tweeted.

"This year is all about the Olympics, so going into Portland short of races and taking a gamble that I could run myself into form makes no sense when I could start to focus on my outdoor season early."

"Individually I'm aiming for sub-10 and making the Olympic final in 2016,....as part of the GB 4x100m relay squad, we have a real shot at getting on the podium and are 100% focused on achieving success as a team."

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