Richard Kilty is happy going about his business in the shadows right now – but plans to shock a few people come the business end of the season.
After undergoing surgery to fix a problematic Achilles issue last year, the Teesside Tornado was understandably careful and cautious in his return and is now cherishing being injury and pain free.
And he’s got time on his side.
This year’s World Championships in Doha don’t get underway until the final weekend in September, which has allowed Kilty the opportunity to ease into his season while still in hard training.
After a flurry of 100m outings last month – the fastest of which was 10.27 seconds in Ostrava – Kilty is now getting stuck into another block of training before he plans to burst back onto the scene next month in preparation for the British Championships and world trials at the end of August.
In the past, the spotlight has been on Kilty but this year he’s unlikely to be talked about as one of the pre-trial favourites – which suits the Teessider down to the ground.
He’s happy being under the radar. And come August he believes he’ll be ready to show that he is still right there in the mix over both 100m and 200m.
“The limelight is off me a little bit,” the 29-year-old tells Teesside Live.
“In the last couple of summers I’ve been missing whereas before that I’d made individual events and got as close to running 10 seconds as you can, I ran 10.01 and sub 10 but the wind was over.
“Nobody is really expecting much from me so it’s kind of like I was in 2014 when I was under the radar and there was no weight on my shoulders. When I’m in that mindset I can shock people.”
Kilty added: “I’ve got no sportswear contract at the minute, so I’ve got no brand saying you need to do this or that. At the moment I’m completely free, I can go out there and run for the love of the sport and set my own goals.
“Nobody is expecting anything, I can go about my business in the background and then come out.”
Kilty thinks the late scheduling of this year’s World Championships plays into his hands. Not only does it allow him more time to sharpen up but over the years he’s rounded off into some nice form in September.
What he’s still yet to decide is whether he’ll target the 100m or 200m in the individual events.
“If you look at the the 100m and the 200m, you’ve got two stand-out lads in both. In the 100m there’s Reece Prescod and Zharnel Hughes and in the 200m you’ve got Adam Gemili and the addition of Miguel Francis, who transferred from Antigua, and then Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake.
“The early season races for me were all while I was in hard training. I’ve been in deep training. Although my surgery was a year ago it took me five months to get running properly. I’m piling in a lot of training to get that snappiness and power back.
“After those early season races I’ve now got the time to run a few more 200s. I definitely feel like I’ve got more potential over 200m. I think I can shock people over 200m but before I run a 200m I’d like to get my flat speed up, ideally run a 10.1-something 100m. I’m really fit at the moment and strong. But I want to make sure I’m quick enough to attack the first bend before I go into a 200m.
“I’m getting a block of training in then will run 200s before then running a 100m at the London Diamond League, then assess what event will suit me best.”
While Kilty is looking forward to the battle for World Championship spots, his wife, Dovile, has already guaranteed her place in Doha with a fantastic leap.
Competing in Riga, Dovile leaped to 14.26m, a new personal best and Lithuanian triple jump record.
The couple’s training and recovery has been aided by the use of cryotherapy treatment on their doorstep. The ‘cold therapy’ treatment utilises extremely low temperatures to aid recovery and help with pain relief.
