No relay medals in Tokyo - what went wrong for GB's squads?

A batch tin alteration successful a year.

Great Britain brought backmost 5 relay medals and a renewed consciousness of optimism from nan Paris Olympics.

Just complete 12 months later, it's a different communicative successful Tokyo, wherever nan British squad grounded to triumph a azygous relay badge for nan first clip successful 22 years.

On Sunday, Britain vanished 4th successful nan women's 4x100m and sixth successful nan men's 4x400m.

Earlier successful nan week they recorded a DNF [did not finish] successful nan men's 4x100, and came past successful nan women's 4x400m power and 5th successful nan 4x400m mixed relay.

So, what has gone wrong?

In nan men's 4x100m, Eugene Amo-Dadzie blundered and group disconnected excessively early for nan handover, leaving Jona Efoloko stranded pinch nan baton.

"You tin spot Jona Efoloko is shouting 'hand' and fundamentally he is asking for Eugene Amo-Dadzie to put his manus out, but you tin spot he's gone excessively soon," said erstwhile sprinter Jeanette Kwakye.

"What's frustrating astir that is sometimes group opportunity it's nan work of nan incoming runner but location are measured steps and they practise truthful much.

"Really and genuinely location isn't an excuse," she added.

London 2012 golden medallist Greg Rutherford called it "heartbreaking" for a squad that bagged bronze successful Paris conscionable a twelvemonth ago.

He feared Amo-Dadzie felt nan unit and became "overwhelmed" successful nan moment, contempt clocking a individual champion 9.87 seconds successful nan 100m 3 weeks earlier nan championships.

"The changeovers were beautiful from 1 to 2 and 2 to three," Rutherford said. "He's conscionable gone excessively soon.

"We person sewage to September, precocious successful nan season, and it is for illustration everyone has forgotten really to walk nan baton," he added.

There was akin vexation successful nan women's 4x400m - a squad accustomed to occurrence disconnected nan backmost of winning metallic aliases bronze astatine 9 of nan past 10 world championships.

The quartet of Poppy Malik, Yemi Mary John, Nicole Yeargin and Victoria Ohuruogu vanished past successful their heat, which was deemed "not bully enough" by Rutherford.

"Yes, it's reliable and conditions are hard, but erstwhile there's that overmuch attraction connected an arena you can't travel past successful your power astatine a world championships.

World indoor champion Amber Anning, who won bronze arsenic portion of nan 4x400m squad astatine nan Olympics, was near retired of nan heat. And Laviai Nielsen, nan 4th personnel of that medal-winning squad, was not selected for Tokyo.

"The 4 girls that went retired there, they should beryllium capable to navigate a qualification. From my constituent of view, it's genuinely not bully enough."

"We would expect them to qualify," Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill added. "We've seen nan occurrence of nan squad successful erstwhile years. Where did it spell incorrect for that Great British team?"

Dina Asher-Smith, speaking to BBC Sport aft Great Britain missed retired connected nan podium successful nan women's 4x100m relay, said: "We gave it our all. Obviously, we wanted gold, that's each we purpose for.

"We will spell backmost and look backmost and analyse. It's not needfully a disappointment. It's conscionable astir learning, going guardant and expanding it adjacent time.

"We ever want to beryllium connected apical of nan podium and I'm speaking for each relay squad retired there. We person precocious expectations, truthful what were going to do particularly pushing guardant to LA is activity difficult enactment disciplined and travel retired and smash it."

Great Britain and Northern Ireland vanished connected 5 medals wide - 3 silvers and 2 bronzes - and 21st successful nan badge table. It is their worst showing astatine a World Championships since Paris 2003.

At nan past World Championships, successful Budapest successful 2023, nan British squad won 10 medals - their associated highest haul.

Darren Campbell, who won golden arsenic portion of Great Britain's 4x100m relay squad astatine nan 2004 Olympics successful Athens, is now nan caput of sprints, relays and hurdles for UK Athletics.

Ahead of Tokyo, he told BBC World Service's More Than The Score podcast that "attitude, subject and relay skills" are nan cardinal ingredients for relay success.

"I would opportunity percent wise, we are up location for perpetually challenging," Campbell said. "We are very bully astatine what we do but successful relays things spell wrong.

"If you conscionable person earthy velocity pinch nary manus skills, we are not going to get nan baton around. You request a precocious level of speed, beautiful slick manus changes, subject and bully acceleration.

"The incoming runner shouts 'hand', nan manus goes backmost quickly and nan baton is successful nan manus beautiful overmuch consecutive away. That is each you tin inquire of nan athletes."

British Athletics were awarded £20.45m successful backing from UK Sport for nan four-year rhythm to nan 2028 Los Angeles Olympics - a simplification of £1.725m from Paris.

Jack Buckner, CEO of UK Athletics, said nan organisation was "disappointed" pinch nan decision, adding their caller badge hauls "deserved a higher level of investment".

It is not known really overmuch each jock receives successful backing aliases really overmuch money is allocated to each arena but Rutherford said he expected amended fixed nan resources disposable to nan relay sides.

"We put truthful overmuch into nan relay successful this country," he said. "We employment aggregate group to make judge that we tin get this correct and it has gone really, really poorly today."

Sally Munday, main executive serviceman of UK Sport, said backing should not beryllium looked astatine arsenic either a "reward" aliases a "punishment" for performances astatine nan Paris Games.

"The determination that we've made against each nan sports is we've looked astatine their potential," she said.

Athletes are besides funded done National Lottery grants, called Athlete Performance Awards (APAs), which are intended to let them to attraction connected their sport.

Ohuruogu thanked nan National Lottery successful her post-race interview, saying: "I conscionable want to opportunity a immense convey you to nan National Lottery and to nan Team GB staff.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't present coming but wide it's been a bully championships for Team GB, truthful we're really grateful."

This article is nan latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.

Ask Me Anything is simply a work dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your clip by telling you things you do not cognize and reminding you of things you do.

The squad will find retired everything you request to cognize and beryllium capable to telephone upon a web of contacts including our experts and pundits.

We will beryllium answering your questions from nan bosom of nan BBC Sport newsroom and going down nan scenes astatine immoderate of nan world's biggest sporting events.

Our sum will span nan BBC Sport website, app, societal media and YouTube accounts, positive BBC TV and radio.