Olympic sprinter Danny Talbot is to experiment with running 400m before the end of the season, writes Kevin Fahey.
The Trowbridge Tornado will stick to 100m and 200m at a meeting in Ghent this weekend, but has pencilled in his first-ever race over one lap in Amsterdam at the end of the month.
“It has always been in my thoughts that Danny would try a 400m,” said his Wiltshire-based coach Dan Cossins.
“It may be even that his long-term future likes in that direction because the problem we have in the UK at the moment is that very few 400m runners can run the 20 seconds for 200m and if you can’t do that then it is difficult to reach world class over one lap.
“It will be interesting to see how Danny goes over that distance and before Amsterdam we may try and find a couple of low-key races.”
London 2012 Olympian Talbot was controversially left out of the Great Britain team for this month’s World Championships.
The Wiltshire athlete was in action in Ninove, Belgium, last weekend and while he won both the 100m and 200m, he was disappointed with his times of 10.41secs and 20.70secs, both well outside his personal bests, although both runs were into headwinds.
“I think Danny felt a bit down about missing the Anniversary Games (at the Olympic Stadium) in London which is understandable,” added Great Britain relay coach Cossins.
“But he has to move on and get on with it now because it has gone.”
Talbot’s mood wouldn’t have been improved when seeing the result of Delano Williams, the man from the Turks & Caicos’ Islands who was effectively picked ahead of him for Moscow.
Williams trailed in last in the 200m in London, clocking 20.74secs, coming on top of his third place in the recent British trials.
Talbot’s personal best of 20.45 is considerably quicker than Williams’ best of 20.70 this season.
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