Olympic champion Darren Campbell insists the European Athletics Team Championships in Gateshead this weekend represents the perfect opportunity for James Dasaolu to stake his claim for further honours.
Dasaolu, a silver medallist at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg earlier this season, will lead the way in the 100m, while Danny Talbot will take on the 200m and Nigel Levine the 400m for Great Britain.
But Campbell, who won Olympic gold at Athens 2004, claims the pressure will be on Dasaolu – especially after Adam Gemili’s impressive time of 10.09 seconds while qualifying for the European Under-23 Championships on Saturday.
“Watching James Dasaolu will be interesting, he’s shown so much promise and he’s got the frame to go under ten seconds, but it’s about temperament, and that’s the most difficult part because he’s had a few injuries to contend with,” said Campbell, an ambassador for Lloyds TSB National School Sport Week.
“It’s a massive weekend for him with the likes of Adam Gemili not there, he gets to wear the GB vest and the main aim will just to be to relax and enjoy it.
“It’s an interesting weekend, if you go back to last time there were no expectations really of what was possible.
“It’s not so much about individuals, it’s about going out there as a team, and that adds to the pressure, you don’t want to let the team down – I remember when I was on the start line I felt like I was under more pressure than the Olympic final!”
© Sportsbeat 2013