A “gutted” Adam Gemili said he felt he “ran like an amateur” after he finished an agonising fourth in the 200m final at the World Athletics Championships in Doha.
Gemili won his semi-final in impressive fashion on Monday, and went into Tuesday night’s final with high hopes of a first global individual medal.
The Briton got a storming start, and led the field off the bend, but American world-leader Noah Lyles stormed through to take gold, while Gemili faded to fourth, missing out on a medal by 0.05 seconds.
“I am just gutted,” Gemili told the BBC. “I had it, I had it. I gave it everything. I lost all my balance at the end. I had nothing left. All my form went out of the window and I ran like such an amateur.
“This was such an opportunity; I can't believe that. I let it go when I had it. I am so sorry.
2019 World Athletics Championships: Day five
"I feel like I have let so many people down. So many people have believed in me and sent me nice messages.”
The 25-year-old experienced similar heartache at the Rio Olympics four years ago, where he also finished fourth.
He will have a chance to end his season on a high when Great Britain’s 4x100m relay team defend their world title later this week, but is already looking towards next year’s Olympics for redemption.
“The last two years I have been plagued with injuries and to get back where I should be, to not break 20 seconds is so disappointing and heart-breaking. I had the medal and it slipped out of my hands.
"I have to take the positives I guess. It's re-lit something inside of me now. Go to Tokyo next year, it's winnable."
