What a rollercoaster it’s been. I’m back home after some great times celebrating my world championships 1500metres silver medal with some karaoke (naturally) in Tokyo.
Enjoying some downtime with friends was just what I needed after going so close to a second world title. It might not have been fully appropriate but we belted out Gold by Spandau Ballet, even if my go-to A Little Respect by Erasure wasn’t on the playlist this time.
I mentioned the word ‘redemption’ going into the world championships and when I got to Japan, I hoped I would get to the final and then get the most out of myself.
I felt pretty good in my heat but was nervous for the semi-final. However, I felt good there too and then realised there were not too many people in the field running as well as I was.
As good as it was to win silver and make it onto the podium, I’m still finding it tough after missing out on gold to Isaac Nader by such a small margin. You want to win – nobody chooses second place – but the performance has given me more confidence that I can win more titles.
My mindset now is that I have had my bad run with injuries and that hopefully nothing like that will happen again in the rest of my career, which is what makes me think I can go on beyond next year.
I’m 31 and at this point I feel I can go on to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Why not now, after Tokyo, if I can put some more good years in between now and then?
The Games provides me with a great prize to aim for. However, I know all too well that a year is a long time in track and field. I have to respect my body and my mind between now and then.
Another four-year cycle did look like a big ask so I had thought originally that Paris would be a great place to end my career but after injury ruled me out there, there has to be more to my Olympic story.
The Games is the one that has eluded me. In 2016 I didn’t go, I ran badly in Japan four years ago during Covid and then in France I missed out, so I want to make LA 2028 happen on my terms.
I have to be kind to myself now. I’m not sure people realise how bad my injuries have been – they aren’t just little ones that have kept me out of action for a few weeks here and there.
I have also suffered from the self-doubt that came from being the reigning world champion who couldn’t go back and defend his crown the following year because of a foot problem.
Now I need to tune into how big this is. Of course, I had to keep some self-belief so I haven’t shocked myself by doing this. If I hadn’t believed, I wouldn’t have tried to come back, uprooting myself to Manchester and changing coaches in the past year.
This, really, was my last roll of the dice to get back to the level I was at in 2022. As a result, I have had a year where my body has played ball. I had knee surgery in February but otherwise it hasn’t been as disruptive a season as 2023 and 2024 were.
I’ve taken a more cautious approach but what this year has taught me is there are not too many opportunities left for me and I want to make the most of the time I have left in the sport.
I take a lot of pride in being able to come back after two years when I missed major championships, to be just two hundredths of a second away from regaining the world title.
LA has to be a realistic goal.
Those who criticise our medal haul don’t know the full story
I found it hard to read the criticism of the British team for returning with five medals, none of them gold.
I went so close to gold myself and feel that if I had just beaten Nader, nobody would be talking about our medal tally now.
Georgia Hunter Bell and Keely Hodgkinson, silver and bronze medallists in the 800metres, were also close and poor Josh Kerr saw injury ruin his chances of joining me on the podium in the 1500m.
So I really don’t think it is as bad as some have made out. It’s just tough in such a global sport and people don’t always know what you’ve gone through just to get to the startline, like myself or Keely after injuries.