British sprinter Adam Gemili takes new job at Chelsea after retiring from athletics

The sporting journey of Gemili has come full circle as the Olympic sprinter officially hangs up his spikes to return to Chelsea. After a glittering 14-year career on the track, the 32-year-old is trading lane four for the training pitches of Cobham, where he once sought to make his name as a young footballer. Gemili was a highly-rated prospect in the Blues' academy until the age of 15, training alongside Ruben Loftus-Cheek. 

After a stint at Dagenham & Redbridge, he pivoted to athletics, eventually becoming one of the most decorated sprinters in British history. He now joins the Chelsea coaching staff to help develop the next generation of Cobham talent. The transition marks a significant shift for Gemili, who intends to use his world-class explosive power to sharpen the physical attributes of Chelsea’s youth players.

"I'm just a normal guy from Dartford, we didn't grow up with a lot," Gemili said, as quoted by Sky Sports. "We just worked hard and I committed to my sport. I just hope one or two of them [the academy players] take some inspiration from that and say 'you know what, it doesn't matter if I can't do it in this way, I'll always find a way to be successful'. It doesn't matter what you do. My story is my own and I hope a lot of these guys can create their own stories. Knowledge is power and if I'm able to teach these kids everything that I know, I can die happy."

Gemili retires as one of only three British men to dip under both 10 seconds for the 100m and 20 seconds for the 200m. His career highlights include a European 200m title and a 4x100m relay gold at the 2017 World Championships. Beyond his speed, Gemili brings a hardened mentality to the Chelsea staff. Having famously missed out on an Olympic medal in Rio 2016 by just 0.003 seconds, he understands the fine margins of elite sport. He hopes to instil this resilience in academy players who face more scrutiny than his generation ever did.

"I hope even just one or two of them can feel some sort of inspiration from my story because football is very tough sport - like, I never planned to become an athlete," he added. "For a lot of these guys they won't make it to the top level, they won't make it to the top of the Premier League. But if I can teach them the skills that I got, one or two of them might even come into athletics, you never you never really know."

Gemili's primary focus now is on integrating into the Blues' coaching staff. His arrival comes at a crucial time as the club looks to maintain its reputation for producing world-class athletes capable of transitioning to the high-intensity environment of Liam Rosenior's senior squad. Chelsea are currently sixth in the Premier League, six points adrift of the top four, and they next face Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.