Reece Prescod has given up takeaways and his Playstation and turned to therapy in his quest to regain his place as Britain’s fastest man.
The former sub-10-second 100metre runner’s weight ballooned during the various Covid lockdowns as he doubled up on Deliveroo and playing Call of Duty.
But looking ahead to his first Diamond League outing of the season in Birmingham tomorrow, he said: “I’m nowhere near Deliveroo now. I feel like I’ve cut that all out. I was a good gamer too but I’ve not got a Playstation anymore.
“It’s just me and my Netflix – that’s my best friend now. Plus, I go to therapy once or twice a week. I’m a lot happier, which is the main thing. I can put a smile on my face this weekend and enjoy the competition and not be sad and down about things.”
Despite his far-from-ideal preparation last season, he was still quick enough to make the British team for the Tokyo Olympics only to be disqualified from his semi-final for a false start, which paved the way for him to seek help.
The first sessions took place on Zoom before becoming face to face. He has them at least weekly now and uses them as check-ins before and after his races.
“A happy athlete performs better than an unhappy one,” he said. “Before, I used to put everything under the carpet. Now, I’ve got to make sure mentally I’m in a good place. If not, I don’t run. So, I make sure I’m happy, ready and confident in what I want to do.”
The Tokyo Games proved dismal for Britain’s sprinters with Prescod’s disqualification, Dina Asher-Smith’s injury and the 4x100m men’s quartet’s silver, which was later scrapped from the record books following the doping ban for CJ Ujah.
“Tokyo wasn’t a nice time for UK sprinting,” he said. “We had a get together with the relay boys and said that’s done, we’re moving on and looking to the future. We have championships to prove ourselves and we can do that.
Despite the doping indiscretion, Prescod has opted to stay in close contact with fellow Londoner Ujah following the resulting fall-out. “It’s important not to let people be on their own so I make sure I check in on people,” he said. “It was just a very tough year for a lot of people last year.”
The Müller Birmingham Diamond League takes place on Saturday and will see the world’s best in action at the newly renovated Alexander Stadium. Catch all the action on BBC1 from 1.15pm.
