Reece Prescod quits Great Britain relay team on eve of World Athletics Championships

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Great Britain have suffered more disruption on the eve of the 2023 World Athletics Championships after Reece Prescod reportedly quit the men’s sprint relay team.

Prescod had formed part of the bronze medal winning quartet at the Worlds in Eugene last year and finished second behind Zharnel Hughes in the 100 metres at the British Championships in July.

Both The Guardian and The Times have reported that the 27-year-old had walked out on his teammates just days before events begin in Budapest on Saturday 19 August.

The heats for the men’s 4x100m are due to take place on Friday 25 August before the final is held a day later in the Hungarian capital.

Prescod is also qualified for the individual 100m, and is expected to still compete despite his departure from the relay unit.

It follows news that Darren Campbell, head of sprints at UK Athletics (UKA), will be absent from the Championships, with the former Olympic medallist officially on sick leave amid rumours of clashes within the coaching set-up at the organisation.

Prescod ran the anchor leg in Oregon last summer as he, Hughes, Jona Efoloko and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake secured bronze behind Canada and the United States in a time of 37.83 seconds.

The uncertainty surrounding their men’s relay quartet continues a difficult period for UK Athletics, who were accused by athletes of “stealing” chances to compete in Budapest last month after naming the smallest Great Britain team for 15 years.

A number of British athletes received invites to Hungary due to their ranking positions, but the national federation mandated that their entrants must also have met the qualification standard in their event.

“The selection is very much based on a philosophy of challenging for finals and ultimately winning medals,” Stephen Maguire, technical director for the organisation, said of the policy to The Guardian. “It’s about being really clear on what our expectation is.

“How are we going to be able to have the best team to represent us at those competitions with a very clear goal? Unashamedly, it is a really clear goal of how do we challenge for final positions?

“I think it is fair for me to recognise that athletes will be hurt because they haven’t made standards and they’ll see it as tough standards.

“It’s not necessarily like the athletes weren’t warned that this was going to be the case. The policy is out a year or 10 months beforehand.”