MARTYN ROONEY and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey produced strong anchor-leg performances for Great Britain in the men’s relays here yesterday, ensuring the nation’s biggest medal haul from a World Junior Championships since 1998. However, as both were bronze, only Aikines-Aryeetey, winner of the 100 metres, returns from the six-day championships with a gold medal.
Britain also won four bronze medals, all in the men’s sprints, raising the prospect of the team who defend Britain’s Olympic 4 x 100 metres title here in 2008 being barely recognisable from those who won in Athens two years ago. Rion Pierre, Alex Nelson, Wade Bennett-Jackson and Aikines-Aryeetey are hot on the senior squad’s heels.
“Not only Harry and I, but Wade and Rion should be thinking about the relay for 2008. That is achievable,” Nelson, the bronze medal-winner in the 200 metres, said. He suggested Marlon Devonish, Mark Lewis-Francis, Jason Gardener and Christian Malcolm should be worried. “The places are up for grabs,” he said.
Recording a season’s best 39.24sec, Britain finished behind Jamaica (39.05) and the United States (39.21). In the 4 x 400 metres, the US won in 3min 03.76sec, followed by Russia in 3:05.13 and Britain in 3:05.49. Rooney, the individual 400 metres bronze medalwinner, pulled Britain up from sixth to third on the final leg.
The worry, though, was the failure to pick up a medal in the women’s events, in any men’s running event above 400 metres, or in the field.