Adam Gemili is adamant he will not be taking the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix lightly with a big 2018 on the horizon.
The 4x100m world champion has been confirmed as taking to the Glasgow track in February, with the 60m kickstarting a significant year in his sprint career.
He will also have a world champion face-off to contend with too, with Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and CJ Ujah – running his first competition in Scotland – also set to take to the Emirates Arena.
And Gemili knows he can’t afford to take his foot off the gas, particularly with the importance of the year ahead with two big competitions on the horizon.
“The Muller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow is the event everyone wants to be at and do well at,” he told British Athletics.
“From my experiences of competing in Scotland [at the Commonwealth Games] in 2014 I know that the crowds will do everything to get behind you, and I’m sure that being up against some of the best in the world will drive me on to perform well.
“With such a big year ahead, the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow provides us with an opportunity to get in some vital race practice before moving on to the likes of the IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the near future.”
Ujah, meanwhile, has also enjoyed a stellar 2017, adding a Diamond League 100m gold medal from Zurich to his Olympic Stadium performance.
It was that latter honour that almost saw he, Gemili, Mitchell-Blake and Danny Talbot almost accrue more success, shortlisted for the team of the year gong at the 2017 Sports Personality of the Year award.
But despite enjoying plenty of success at the top of the podium, Ujah is also keen to relish a new experience in Glasgow.
“I can’t wait to compete for the first time in Scotland; there are so many great Scottish athletes in the British squad, always telling us about how brilliant the Scottish crowds are – so I am delighted to have the chance to compete at the Emirates Arena,” he said.
“Racing indoors is always such a great experience – there is absolutely no room for mistakes so you have to be on your game to come out with the result you want, but I’ll use the atmosphere and the thought of ‘I’m up against the world’s best athletes here’ as motivation on February 25.”