Team GB primed for Paris Olympics after best World Athletics haul in 30 years

British athletes will take "energy and momentum" into the Paris Olympics after their best showing in 30 years at the World Athletics Championships.

- TOM HARLE

Memorable gold medals for Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Josh Kerr, three silvers and five bronzes mean Team GB finished up in Budapest with 10 medals and seventh in the medal table. The leanest team in a generation delivered the best British haul since Stuttgart 1993.

“Internally, we know the talent of our athletes but a number of them have stepped up massively this week,” said Stephen Maguire, technical director at UK Athletics. “We need to celebrate it first but hopefully this sets us up really well to go to the Paris Olympics and to show we really can do it.”

Britain’s middle-distance golden generation delivered as the only nation to have three women in the 1500m final and this was the first World Championships at which Britain have won medals in the men’s 800m and 1500m.

The team cemented their status as a relay powerhouse with four medals from a possible five with baton in hand, and the other saw the men’s 4x100m squad miss bronze by 0.04 seconds. Starting with an unexpected mixed relay silver on opening night, momentum built in the British team when it was clear something special was brewing.