NewcastleWorld’s 12 days of Christmas: Day two brings an Olympic medal back to Gateshead

Day two spotlights a Gateshead sprinter who enjoyed Olympic success in 202
Who’s under the logo today? (Image: Getty Images)Who’s under the logo today? (Image: Getty Images)
Who’s under the logo today? (Image: Getty Images)

It's the second day of NewcastleWorld's 12 Days of Christmas and today's local figure is the Teeside Tornado himself.

Olympic sprinter Richard Kilty may have been born in Middlesborough, but he honed his skill as a member of Gateshead Harriers here on Tyneside.

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2021 was a big year for the speedster, who came home from the Tokyo Olympics with an extra lump of metal in his suitcase.

Kilty grew up in the North East and has been outspoken about the poverty his family faced.

Did you guess it was the sprinter? (Image: Getty Images)Did you guess it was the sprinter? (Image: Getty Images)
Did you guess it was the sprinter? (Image: Getty Images)

When the star broke the under-12 60m record in 2001 he was actually living in a homeless hostel.

The 32-year-old travelled to Tokyo's delayed Olympics this year already with gold medals at the World Indoor Championships, European Championships and Commonwealth Games already under his belt.

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What Kilty was missing in his trophy locker was an Olympic medal.

The runner had narrowly missed selection for the London 2012 Olympics and placed fifth in the 4x 100m event in Rio 2016.

At Tokyo, the sprinter ran in the men's 4x 100m event once again, this time alongside CJ Ujah, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Zharnel Hughes.

The team impressed and turned out a stunning performance in the final that saw them come home in second place, just a hundredth of a second off first.

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It meant a silver medal for the local boy, however, it wasn't without controversy.

After the race Kilty's teammate CJ Ujah failed a drug test, testing positive for two banned substances.

Speaking at the time, the Gateshead Harriers sprinter's brother Kevin said: "It’s such a shame. He might not go to another Olympics.

"Sprinting is like football, you only have a certain amount of time until you’re past your prime.

Kilty with teammate Mitchell-Blake (Image: Getty Images)Kilty with teammate Mitchell-Blake (Image: Getty Images)
Kilty with teammate Mitchell-Blake (Image: Getty Images)

"He worked so hard for this, ever since he was a lad.

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“We didn’t have the easiest of childhoods – he could have gone down one of two paths, and he chose the right path.

“We grew up on a tough estate, but he got himself out and did well for himself – especially given what he was exposed to. He’ll be devastated.

"I’m so proud of him. He’s done nothing wrong, this is so unfair.”

It is reported that CJ Ujah's case is currently ongoing with a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport's Anti-Doping Division in the future.