Stayaway sprinters blew our Rio chance, says Richard Kilty

Great Britain effectively put out a B team in the Bahamas

(Getty Images)

Richard Kilty has accused his fellow British sprinters Adam Gemili, James Dasaolu and Chijindu Ujah of letting down the team and wrecking their Olympic relay medal ambitions by failing to compete at the IAAF World Relays.

Kilty anchored home what was effectively a 4x100m B team in the Bahamas to a disappointing fourth place in their heat. It meant they missed out on a place in the final, which would have been enough to earn qualification for Brazil next year.

“We all have our individual aspirations but we have a massive, massive chance to win a medal in Rio and more so of a chance than we have in the individual,” said Kilty, the world and European 60m indoor champion.

Team GB eventually came fourth in the heat, meaning they miss out on a chance to qualify for the Rio Olympics (Getty Images)

“There’s three big names at home who I think have let us down a little bit. They all have their reasons for not coming but what’s more important than qualifying for Rio automatically? I don’t think anything’s more important this year.

“I wish they were here. We now have added pressure as there’s only eight more places for Rio and it puts us under a lot of pressure going into next year. I think we should be running with our A team all the way through to make sure that we gel and give ourselves the best possible opportunity for Rio and that’s not happening right now.”

Gemili missed the World Relays to focus on his university exams while Dasaolu and Ujah opted out as they prepare for the outdoor seasons. Harry Aikines-Aryeetey was rested because of an injury niggle.

In their absence, Kilty was joined in the British quartet by Sean Safo-Antwi, Danny Talbot and James Ellington, and Teessider Kilty, 25, said: “I’ve got respect for the lads who’ve been out there in Orlando for a month and came out here to get it done. There’s nothing more we can do. We all committed to the relay and certain people don’t want to.”