Reece Prescod quits GB relay team before World Athletics Championships

Reece Prescod has walked out on Britain’s 4x100m men’s relay team, leaving them in the lurch just days before the start of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

The Guardian understands that matters came to a head earlier this week after the 27-year-old had missed a number of practice sessions during the build-up. And while Britain can still draw on other athletes, the departure of the country’s second-fastest sprinter represents a significant blow to a relay team that has constantly brought back medals from major championships.

At last year’s world championships in Eugene, Prescod ran the anchor leg when the British team won bronze behind Canada and the USA in a time of 37.83 seconds - while early this season he showed his form by dipping under 10 seconds for 100m. Last month he also qualified to run in the individual 100m in Budapest, which he still plans to do.

But where this leaves Prescod’s longer-term future is an open question. While his talent is undeniable, his attitude has been queried more than once. In 2021 he admitted he was 8kg overweight just before the Olympics due to a diet of Deliveroo takeaways and late-night sessions of Call of Duty, while his commitment towards the tightly-knit relay team down the years has also been an area of concern.

British Athletics did not comment when approached, however they will take some solace from the knowledge that the relay squad has repeatedly proven it knows how to win medals - and overcome adversity - whoever is on the final team.

At the world championships in 2019, the men’s team of Adam Gemili, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake was able to set a European record of 37.36 to take silver behind the US despite Hughes feeling a sharp niggle in his hamstring moments before the race.

While at the Covid-delayed 2022 worlds in Eugene, a largely unheralded British team of Jona Efoloko, Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Prescod, also ended up winning bronze. That squad gained strength from feeling they had their backs against the wall. UKA’s performance director, Stephen Maguire, will hope for a similar response this time.