Sutton sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey put himself in pole position for the second 60m berth in Doha after claiming silver at the weekend at the Aviva World Indoor Trials and UK Championships, writes David Jordan.
British number one Dwain Chambers romped to gold in 6.50 seconds – the fastest 60m time in the world this year – with Aikines-Aryeetey just 0.05 seconds behind.
Only the winner was guaranteed qualification for March’s World Indoor Championships but, having finishedclear of fellow Brits Craig Pickering and Mark Lewis-Francis, 21-year-old Aikines-Aryeetey is expected to get the nod.
“I felt awesome,” he said. “I just latched onto Dwain – I have been training really hard and it’s great to get a personal best in a final.
“If I can put in another solid performance in Birmingham at the Aviva Grand Prix next week and get to Doha it will be great.
“I can’t wait to be on that international stage.
I have done a lot in my career already but if I stopped now then people wouldn’t talk about me.
“I have to keep going, I have to keep improving and I want to get to the world stage again and again.”
Chambers may be a figure of hate for many involved in British athletics – but Aikines-Aryeetey thanked the veteran sprinter for his assistance in Sheffield.
“He is the guy who is pulling me through,” Aikines-Aryeetey added.
“He has had his troubles, but on the track, he is the guy us young ones need to follow.
“Hopefully in the future I will be the guy showing the younger ones how it is done but right now I amlearning from Dwain and I’m really grateful for that.
“The thing about our sport is you can be laying down some great times in training, but really it is all about how you perform on the day.
“I was on 6.70 early on and I had no idea how I was going to go from there to 6.5 but I’ve done it and I have to thank Dwain for that.”
l Aviva is proud to have been the No 1 sponsor of UK Athletics since 1999 and is committed to developing the sport at every level, from playground to podium. Visit aviva.co.uk/athletics for more information
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