First Ojie Edoburun took down two of the biggest beasts in British sprinting. Then he addressed the elephant in the room. After shocking the pre-race favourites Zharnel Hughes and Adam Gemili to win the men’s 100m UK Championship, the 23-year-old was forthright when asked about reports that Christian Coleman, the world’s fastest man, had allegedly missed three drugs tests.
“I just feel like missing three tests in a year is easily avoidable,” he said. “Just handle your responsibilities because at the end of the day the athletes are liable. I know that – so he should too if he is the fastest man in the world.
“It’s not good in the sense that athletics gets the most attention when it comes to doping because there is so much other positive stuff to talk about. It really bugs me that it is in the limelight when there are so many good stories coming through. But if he is not there it makes it a bit easier for me.”
Edoburun, who ran 10.18sec into a -1.9m/s headwind, believes he is capable of reaching the final of the 100m in the world championships in Doha next month. Dina Asher-Smith’s sights are set far higher, however, and she again advertised her impressive form by breaking her own British 100m championship record, running 10.96sec into a 0.9m/sec headwind.
“It was well good, especially considering the headwinds,” said Asher-Smith, who finished well clear of Asha Philip, who ran 11.29. “I am happy to get the business done and qualify for the world championships. There is no point talking about it unless you have qualified. I am really happy.”
While Asher-Smith’s victory was expected, Edoburun’s was anything but. He was a teenage prodigy but admitted afterwards that he had struggled for years to conquer his mental demons – and cried after coming through in one of the closest finishes this battered old stadium has seen.
True, the time was nothing special. But what a race it was. First CJ Ujah exploded out of the blocks to lead before his lack of fitness told and Gemili took over. But with Edoburun and Hughes finishing like bullet trains all three crossed the line in the same time of 10.18sec. Eventually Edoburun was given the nod – but it took the judge a long look at the photo finish to be sure.
“I’ve just burst into tears,” said Edoburun. “I have had so many setbacks. The first year I got a medal here I was 19 and I haven’t got a medal since – it has taken me four years to figure things out.”
“I call it mental injuries,” he explained. “When you have experienced an embarrassment or failure it sticks with you. So I have to come back and face these demons every year. Everyone says they want to be a winner but it’s actually happened. I can’t believe it.”
Edoburun also revealed that he had been close to breaking point after missing out on the 2017 world championships in London. “I came fourth at the trials and didn’t get picked for the relay,” he said. “That was the biggest heartbreak I have had in my whole career. It was my home champs. I literally live 20 minutes from the track and it wasn’t even part of it. That forced me to ask myself a question. I have had so much junior success, won medals, run quick times and that was my first big failure.
“I said to myself: ‘Have I got what it takes? I need to make changes. I moved coach to be with Steve Fudge. I have a new psychologist and he has been helping me so much. There has been a bit of stigma about psychology, maybe connotations that it makes you weak. But I think it’s what makes me stronger over everybody else.”
Meanwhile Hughes, who had talked beforehand about breaking Linford Christie’s British 100m record, was disgusted with his performance. “It was a terrible race, I’m not happy with that,” he said. “But I made the team, I’m in the top three. I still have some time leading up to Doha and I’ll use that time to get sharper and come back again.”
Hughes, you imagine, will be the British male sprinter on people’s lips come the worlds. But this, emphatically and gloriously, was Edoburun’s day.
