8:30am Thursday 18th March 2010
Shaftesbury Barnet's Lee McConnell admitted Great Britain’s 4x400m relay squad were caught cold after returning empty-handed from the World Indoor Championships in Doha.
The 31-year-old joined forces with Kim Wall, Perri Shakes-Drayton and Vicki Barr to clock 3:30.29minutes and finish fifth at the Aspire Dome in Qatar.
The USA led from gun to tape, producing a world leading time of 3.27.34mins to take gold with Russia second and Jamaica fourth.
But with none of the six-strong GB squad competing individually in the Middle East, McConnell insisted the squad were facing an uphill struggle from the start.
“It would have been a really big help to run in a heat before the final, but unfortunately we didn’t have one,” said McConnell.
“It was the first time we had run together as a team and we just didn’t know who was best in which position or any of that.
“With none of us running individually either we were sitting around all weekend waiting for this one race right at the end and it is hard just to turn it on.
“I think the coaches did everything they possibly could to prepare us and we all knew which jobs we had to do but ultimately we just couldn’t do enough for a medal.
“I think we all did our jobs as best we could, it wasn’t good enough for a medal but we would have had to do something very special to beat those top three teams.
“They had runners who had been running through the week in the individual competitions and they have are all established performers so the result was probably expected.
“But we now have a bit of experience together and I think we are a good squad and hopefully we can take it on for the rest of the year.”
Meanwhile veteran sprinter Joice Maduaka bowed out of the 60m at the semi-final stage after finishing fifth in a time of 7.35seconds, with eventual champion Veronica Campbell-Brown leading the way in 7.07secs.
The 36-year-old squeezed into the semi-finals by finishing fourth in her opening heat, but went no further with only the top two from each heat and the two fastest losers making the final.
* Aviva has been proud to have helped and supported the Aviva GB & NI junior, senior and disability teams as they prepare for all major events and championships since 1999. Visit www.aviva.co.uk/athletics for more information
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