London - AFP
British teenage sprint sensation Adam Gemili has confirmed he intends to compete at the London Olympics. The 18-year-old was entered Tuesday for the 100 metres, but not the 200m, at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona next month in an indication that he will take up his guaranteed place over the shorter distance at the Olympics. Gemili, who will be favourite for gold in the World Juniors which run from July 10-15, finished second to Dwain Chambers at the British Olympic trials in Birmingham last weekend. A former footballer who had spells with several clubs including European champions Chelsea, Gemili only turned to athletics full-time in January and leads the UK rankings this season with a time of 10.08 seconds, well inside the Olympic qualifying standard. Gemili\'s coach Michael Afilaka said Sunday he was not sure his athlete was ready for the Games, claiming he was an \"emotional wreck\" after the trials. But Gemili told BBC Radio on Tuesday: \"My plan is to go to the Olympics and compete with the world\'s top sprinters and not get beaten too badly.\" He added: \"I\'ve got two weeks until the World Juniors so I\'m just going to get my head down and train hard for that. \"That was my aim for this year until I ran 10.08secs and the Olympics became a possibility. \"After that it\'s all focused on the Olympics.\"