Buck admits Great Britain went for broke to snatch bronze

From David Jordan, Sportsbeat, in Doha

 RICHARD Buck admitted the gamble paid off after Great Britain's 4x400m relay squad went for broke at the World Indoor Championships and emerged with a bronze medal.

ALL OR NOTHING: Richard Buck admits Great Britain's relay quartet went for broke in their bid to secure world indoor bronze in Doha (Getty Images)

The 23-year-old joined forces with Chris Clarke, Conrad Williams and Nigel Levine to clock 3:07.52 minutes and overhaul the Dominican Republic - who were later disqualified - for bronze.

Bershawn Jackson led USA to relay gold at the World Championships in Berlin and repeated the trick in Doha to claim top spot on the podium ahead of Belgium.

And after relying on a fastest loser's spot to take their place in the final, Buck insisted the squad left nothing to chance in the medal showdown.

"Our coach spoke to us and he told us we had to trust ourselves more and give it more in the first 200m," said Buck.

"We gave ourselves too much to do the heats and it almost ended up costing us.

"But we went out and we all put it in hard over the first 200m because we knew we were good enough to maintain that pace through the whole race.

"We couldn't afford to let any of the teams in the final get away from us and it was a real fight out there but we hung in.

"I ended up letting the Dominican guy go a little bit and I really had to dig deep to get back past him.

"But I got to the home straight and I looked up and I could hear the Great Britain fans roaring me on and the flags waving and I just went for it.

"I think we just needed the confidence to believe in ourselves and once we had that then we could display our true talents and we're delighted to do that."

Britain were given a helping hand in the final after sprinting powerhouses Jamaica clashed with Barbados and Dominican Republic, ending with the first two retiring and the third being disqualified after the event.

But after taking to the podium in the Middle East, Buck backed the squad to go from strength to strength in 2010.

"We did have a bit of a wobble in the heats and it almost cost us but you saw the benefit of the rest in the final," added Buck.

"I think a few of the guys from Jamaica and Barbados had already run a couple of races here and that might have contributed to the collision.

"But regardless of what happened between them I think we showed our strength and I think we ran well as quite a young team.

"Hopefully this is the start of something and we can build on this and progress throughout the rest of the year as a squad."

Aviva has been proud to have helped and supported the Aviva GB & NI junior, senior and disability teams as they prepare for all major events and championships since 1999. Visit www.aviva.co.uk/athletics for more information