Going into the final leg of the 4x100m final, Devonish was unable to transfer the baton to Harry Aikines-Aryeetey as he collided with the United States' Darvis Patton.

Devonish was left clutching the baton as his team mate set off too quickly, and threw it to the ground in disappointment, but feels Britain's medal hopes next summer are strong.

"In the relay we have a serious chance of a medal I think," he told insidethegames.

"You look at the stats and in the past we've got more medals than in the individual.

"We're all very positive and excited and believe we can get a medal, we can run a lot quicker than we have and if we do that it's what colour medal we will have.

"It's not going to be easy, it's the Olympic Games it's never easy.

"The home crowd and the public will be screaming us on."


Of Daegu, he added "It was a strange series of events, an unforeseen circumstance why I couldn't get the bat to Harry but definitely that can't happen again."

It is the quality of Britain's changeover which Devonish thinks will be crucial to their hopes next summer as the flat speed of their Jamaican rivals, led by the triple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, and the USA will be hard to beat.

"For the relay team the slowest athlete in the Jamaican team run 9.8s, and the Americans are in that ilk so their flat speed is superior to ours," he said.

"But our changeovers are some of the best in the world, so if we get our changeovers right we can mix with them.

"It is a tall order, but we can stretch our changeovers more often than not, so it's not all doom and gloom!"

Post-2012 Devonish, who claimed gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens in the 4x100m, is planning to quit but intends to remain involved in sport at some level.

He also is looking to turn to one of his other talents – art.


"After 2012 I'll probably call it a day – I've had a great innings in sport and I've pretty much done everything I've wanted to," he said.

"This will be my last hurrah – my last sprint on the track.

"I want to be involved in not just athletics but other sports as well.

"I'm a bit of an artist and like to do a bit of art, I've got no time to do that because of athletics taking all my time (right now).

"Maybe I'll make a bit of money from that – it will be in the hands of the public rather than my own!"

Devonish is sponsored by the National Lottery, who are supporting a number of sports and athletes in the build-up to London 2012, and he credits them with much of his success during his career.

"The lottery has been very important to me, being funded by them one way or another over the years.

"It allows me to solely concentrate on my sport and take away a lot of the stresses we all have.

"Depending on your circumstances I wouldn't say you can't make it without lottery funding, but it's a lot harder."



The 35-year-old has also called on a consistent anti-doping rule to be brought in that applies to each national Olympic committee to prevent the wrangling that has engulfed the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the World Anti Doping Agency's (WADA) dispute recently.

The BOA want to protect a bye law that prevents athletes found guilty of anti-doping offences competing for Britain in future Olympics, but WADA has ruled that this makes them non-compliant with their own regulations on the issue.

"I do not condone drugs whatsoever, WADA have definitely stepped up investment to keep drug cheats out of the sport," he said.

"You have blood testing now at the Olympics and if they can do that throughout the year that will be brilliant.

"So I'd like to see there be one rule to stop the confusion.

"I think it's only the BOA who is against it at the minute so one way or another they should make a decision and make it clear – one rule."

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