With two years to go until the 2012 London Olympics, Britain’s athletes were celebrating their best ever medal haul at the European Championships. The final tally of 19 medals surpassed the previous best of 18 that was achieved in 1990 which featured the likes of Linford Christie and Roger Black.
The new crop of athletes performed superbly in Barcelona and continued the good work that was seen at last year’s World Championships. With the countdown to London well under way the success achieved has come as a timely boost for everyone involved with Team GB.
“Overall it’s very encouraging for the next few years. Quite a few athletes stepped up a level,” commented head coach Charles van Commenee who was set a target of 10-15 medals. “There is a lot of work to be done. We have too many athletes at home with injuries. That needs to be addressed.”
Britain’s success is a far cry from the previous European Championships in Gothenburg where the country failed to win a single individual title. Now the hope is that the likes of Jessica Ennis, Phillips Idowu and Mo Farah can continue to impress and add Olympic titles to their name.
With Dai Green delivering a world class performance and young prospect Perri Shakes-Drayton smashing her lifetime best it seems British athletics is finally moving in the right direction.
Lord Coe also agrees that British athletics is now on the right path and that the future is bright ahead of 2012.
“I think the team is in really good shape with two years to go and what Charles will be figuring out is the route through for some of these European medallists to challenge again in 2012," he told BBC Sport.
"It's now a team that is buzzing and they are on the move. It is still a long time to 2012 but there is real light at the end of the tunnel."
