BBC reporter comforts British sprinter as he chokes back tears in live TV interview after winning gold
SPEED KING Jeremiah Azu was close to tears as he became Britain’s 13th male world champion indoors.
Thirteen days after he won gold at the Europeans, the Welshman sprinted to glory over 60 metres on day one of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing.
Initially it flashed up that he was second behind Australian Lachlan Kennedy in a dramatic photo finish.
But then the scoreboard placed him first, thanks to his late dip, as he equalled his personal best time of 6.49 seconds, which had been set in Apeldoorn earlier this month.
Holland-born Azu ran around the track in celebration and then spoke about his emotions during a whirlwind few weeks that had also seen him become a father for the first time.
The 23-year-old – who won by a margin of 0.01 seconds from Kennedy – said: “I knew I could win it.
“It’s history to be a European and world champion in the same year. I’m excited for the future.
“I said at the Europeans, I want to take over the world. This is just the start of our journey.
“The plan is to keep on winning. This gives me massive confidence. The sky isn’t the limit – there’s way, way more than that. Let’s see what the summer brings – I’m excited for it.”
Azu, who relocated from Italy to Wales after the Paris Olympics, is the fourth British man to win this sprint crown, following Jason Gardener (2004), Dwain Chambers (2010) and Richard Kilty (2014).
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He said: “I was a bit emotional before the final with my coach. The last few years have been very difficult for me and this morning I was thinking about it and reflecting.
“It’s so important to surround yourself with people that believe in you and who care about you. If I came last, they would be the same. That’s huge for me.
“It’s been huge to move back to Cardiff. Family is everything to me. I sacrificed that for the last two years.
“Being back with my family, having that support team around me, is huge.
“They allow me to believe in myself and that’s something you can’t teach. It’s so important to success.”
Britain’s 1500 metres runners Georgia Hunter Bell and Neil Gourley, the squad captain, and Amber Anning in the 400 metres all qualified fastest from their respective heats.