The Glasgow 1500m runner is a regular finalist at the biggest events but arrives in Tokyo at a loss to explain a patch of poor form that has him fearing a first-round exit
(Image: PA)
Neil Gourley prides himself on rising to the big occasion and, by his own admission, he desperately needs to if he is to avoid World Championship heartache this weekend.
The Glasgow 1500m runner is a regular finalist at the biggest events but arrives in Tokyo at a loss to explain a patch of poor form that has him fearing a first-round exit.
Despite winning the British title in Birmingham last month, Gourley has not finished better than 10 th in a Diamond League meeting this season and has been running three seconds off his personal best.
Confusingly, Gourley had a superb indoor season and won World Indoors silver in China in February – his first global medal and one he hoped would set the tone for a special season.
Athlete and staff meeting during Novuna GB&NI Team Holding Camp in Miyazaki, Japan(Image: Sam Mellish Photography)
The 30-year-old appeared set to banish the demons of a disappointing 2024, where his Olympics bid was disrupted by illness. He still made the final in Paris but finished 10 th , while fellow Scot Josh Kerr won silver in an epic race.
Gourley, who trained at Giffnock North Athletics Club before moving to America in 2018, begins his campaign in Sunday’s heats but has no idea what he’ll produce.
“Quite honestly, the last two races I’ve run, it’s just not been good enough,” he said.
“I won’t make it out of the first round if I run like that, to be candid.
“I’m focussing on the first round and if I perform the way that I know I can, I’m looking to be in the final competing for a medal.
“But it seems silly to talk about that when I’ve not even had a race at the moment that could justify getting out of the first round.
“The one bright spot was the British Championships, where I felt more like myself. I really haven’t been racing how I’ve wanted to this season if I’m totally honest.
“I am quite comfortable talking about that.
“The other thing I am comfortable with is that I’ll get the best out of myself at the big show in Tokyo, so I’m looking forward to being there and prove to myself as much as anything else.”
Gourley hopes a preparation camp in Hawaii is just the kick he needs to inspire a turn-around in form, though a sickness bug two weeks before the championships has not helped.
Still, he is set to be part of a men’s 1500m event that is arguably the must-see race of the entire week.
Kerr’s rivalry with Jakob Ingebrigtsen was one of the stories of the Olympics last summer, and it looked like the world champion had seen off his Norwegian foe when he burst clear down the home straight.
In a heart-breaking ending, American Cole Hocker emerged up the inside to win gold – and the sequel to that all-timer of a race is must-see TV next Thursday.
Gourley hopes to form a trio of Scots on the start line alongside Kerr and 2022 world champion Jake Wightman, and is clinging to the hope he has timed his preparation right.
“I’ve always felt when the pressure is on, I am at my best,” he added, speaking at a Novuna-backed British camp – with the company financing the ambitions of millions across the UK, from helping business grow and individuals plan for the future, to backing British Athletics on the global stage.
“For whatever reason, in my career it’s been the case that I don’t get as much out of myself in the regular season – whether it’s the style of racing or whether the pressure is off, I do get more out of myself at the big championships.
“You do have seasons where things are not quite clicking but often when that’s the case I tend to get the best out of myself.
“I wanted to peak for the outdoor season. There’s two ways of trying to do it, you can either build gradually and work through or take a break and try to come back and peak again, which is what I have tried to do.
“I am hoping it will pay off in the long run. I had found myself further behind some of my competitors than maybe I would normally be at the beginning of the outdoor year, and still midway through the summer.
“Hopefully and the timing will make a bit more sense, I certainly have my better races in September and that’s the big hope at the moment.”
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