Having won the World Indoor Championships earlier this year, Richard Kilty will be one of the most high-profile performers when the Commonwealth Games 100m gets under way tomorrow. But as Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson learned when he met the Teessider, things have not gone to plan since he claimed the world title

SPORTS psychologists will often tell you that dealing with defeat is one of the most difficult challenges facing an elite performer. Sometimes, though, coping with success can be an even tougher test.

When Richard Kilty travelled to the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Sopot in March, he did so as a sprinter with a point to prove. Controversially overlooked for the 2012 Olympics, he had spent six months away from athletics, pondering a move into the Army. With his funding removed, he had been forced to train on the roads and pathways of his native Teesside, with his father, Kevin, acting as his stand-in coach.

The World Indoors were supposed to be a relatively gentle reintroduction to the world of top-level competition. Within the space of three races, however, he was standing on top of the medal podium as world champion.

A vindication of his unwavering confidence in his sprinting ability, even during the tough times when retirement looked the only option? You only had to look in Kilty’s eyes as he received his gold medal to know how much it all meant.

A powerful rebuttal to the figures in authority who had written him off as a hopeless case, and who refused to offer any financial or coaching support, even when the 24-year-old’s performances began to pick up markedly in 2013? UK Athletics would never admit it, but they undoubtedly failed in their duty of care.

Winning the World Championships was the culmination of a journey that had innumerable false starts, yet it also raised new questions that Kilty readily admits he is still coming to terms with as he prepares to contest the opening round of the Commonwealth Games 100m in Glasgow tomorrow.

No longer an unknown quantity or an outsider battling against the odds, Stockton-born Kilty is now a marked man, burdened with the responsibility of living up to his tag as world champion every time he steps on to the track.

It might be a completely different challenge to having to train on the towpath alongside the Tees Barrage, but four months on from his Sopot success, and the Teessider is still learning to deal with the aftermath of the greatest moment of his career.

“It all still feels a little bit weird, and it’s taken me a while to get my feet back on the ground,” said Kilty. “Initially, it just all felt absolutely amazing. To go out there and not only win a medal, but actually take the gold, was great.

“It was the best moment of my life, and no matter what else happens in the next few years, no one will ever be able to take away the fact that I’m a world champion.

“But if I’m being totally honest, I don’t think I was ready for what it would all mean. I think in the next few days and weeks, I was still in a state of shock. It was confusing.

“In the build-up to the championships, I didn’t really think I could do something like that, so when it happened, I wasn’t at all prepared for what would come next.

“The next couple of months are still a blur really. I was going all over the place doing all sorts of things with sponsors and the media, and then the outdoor season came around really quickly and I had to get back out and run. I don’t think either my mind or body was ready for that.”

The Northern Echo: Richard Kilty won gold in Sopot (AP)

By his own admission, Kilty will concede that his outdoor season to date has been a disappointment. A health issue restricted his training for the best part of a month, so by the time he began to compete outdoors, he was effectively performing from a standing start.

Elevated into top-class fields thanks to his status as a world indoor champion, he has struggled to threaten his post-Sopot target of becoming only the second white sprinter in history to break the ten-second barrier.

A season-best 10.12 in Florida confirmed his ability, but his outdoor performances have never matched his indoor achievements, where his exceptional reaction time and starting speed make him all but unbeatable in the first half of the race.

An extra 40m outdoors might not sound like much, but it can have a profound impact when a hundredth of a second can be the difference between making a final or missing out.

Kilty would not be the first sprinter to prove unable to translate sensational indoor form into a similar level of achievement on an outdoor track, but having been forced to write off a significant chunk of this summer’s programme, the Teessider is not giving up yet.

“I’ll get there,” he said. “I’ve had a few health issues that meant I lost a fair bit of weight, and although I don’t want to make excuses, that combined with the fall-out from the World Championships meant it was always going to be a difficult summer season for me.

“A lot of the time when people have really intensive indoor seasons, they don’t really compete outdoors at all, but I didn’t want to do that and I’ve tried to put in as much work as I can in the last few weeks.

“I’ve come back to Middlesbrough to train a bit, and I think that’s helped. I’ve been all over the world this year, but sometimes it’s nice to be back somewhere you feel comfortable. I’ve had a good couple of weeks training, and hopefully that’ll show in my performances up in Glasgow.”

The Northern Echo: Richard Kilty won gold in Sopot (AP)

The growing strength of British sprinting means that had England’s Commonwealth Games squad been chosen a month or so later, Kilty would almost certainly not have made the team.

As it is, he will compete in the individual 100m alongside Adam Gemili and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, even though Dwain Chambers won the British Championships earlier this month and both James Dasaolu and Chimindu Ujah have broken ten seconds in the last 18 months.

Kilty is also expected to run the lead-off leg in the 4x100m relay, and while it would be another major surprise if he was to claim an individual medal, England’s line-up should be pushing a Usain Bolt-inspired Jamaican quartet for gold in the relay.

“I don’t want to set myself too many targets,” he said. “But I guess I’d love to make the final in both the 100m and relay. If I’m competing in two finals then I’ll at least have done myself justice.

“I tend to be someone who rises to the challenge of big competitions and big races, so even with all that’s happened, I’m still pretty confident I’ll be up there competing with the best in Glasgow.

“I know there’s a big 100m performance in me, and hopefully as I come through the rounds in the Commonwealths, I’ll get myself into the shape to bring it out. I’m certainly confident I can at least break my personal best (10.10sec).

“Then the relay should be really exciting because there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be challenging for gold. British sprinting is in a really good place at the moment, and whatever four guys are selected to race, we’ll have a really strong team.”