Britain’s newly crowned world indoor 60m champion Richard Kilty still can’t quite comprehend his success but admits he’s revelling in the attention that’s come with it.
Kilty stormed to 60m gold at the World Indoor Championships in Poland two weeks ago, clocking 6.49seconds, a third successive personal best, to win by 0.02.
Ranked 14th heading to Sopot, Kilty’s achievements were made all the more remarkable given that he was only a replacement for the injured James Dasaolu.
Dasaolu is the world indoor No.1 and, having lived up to his billing, Kilty is still shocked but is enjoying the benefits of claiming a surprise global gold.
“It’s been a bit crazy actually. I’ve had so many interviews and people wanting to talk to me back home and it’s so strange. I’ve never had anything like this before,” he added.
“Now I’m getting so many more followers on Twitter, everybody’s sending me congratulations and the media have also been contacting me a lot which is strange.
“Two weeks ago nobody was talking about me in the build-up and I think I was only ranked eighth or ninth going into it.
“So people probably knew I had potential to make the final, but maybe not much further. Now suddenly all the attention’s on me and it feels good.
“It’s indescribable to know that on the day, the only day that matters, you’ve come out on top. To be crowned world champion and be standing on the top of that podium was the best feeling ever.”
© Sportsbeat 2014