After having disappointing performances in the 2022 World Championships and Commonwealth Games, Adam Gemili said he thought about "going back to football" and giving up athletics.
The British sprinter played for Chelsea as a youngster and was signed by Dagenham & Redbridge of League Two at the time.
In 2012, he made the transition to athletics; in 2014, he won the European 200-meter championship; and in 2016, he finished fourth.
Football was one of my possibilities because it's where I initially came from, according to Gemili, 29.
"I was resuming football. When I contacted a few clubs, they invited me to practise with them.
"I am unable to say clubs. There was a Championship team, a League One team, and maybe one Premier League team at the time.
The Londoner claims he stopped running when his results declined as a result of a disagreement with UK Athletics over his hiring of an American coach, Rana Reider.
After receiving several allegations of sexual misbehaviour, which he denies, Reider is the subject of an investigation.
After being eliminated in the 200-meter heats at the World Championships in Oregon in July and failing to get to the Commonwealth Games final, Gemili first resisted breaking away from his coach until finally doing so in August.
Gemili, who was formally pulled from UK Athletics' highest level of financing in November, stated that she "essentially abandoned the sport" because she "didn't have any interest" and "didn't like waking up for training."
"I loathed it, and the stressful things that were going on were the reason for that.
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