Wonder boy: Great Britain's Adam Gemili smiles after the 100m heats at the Olympic Stadium

A Barking and Dagenham College tutor has recalled the “magical” moment Adam Gemili finished just 0.04 seconds short of a spot in the 100m finals at the Olympic Stadium.

The 18-year-old sports student at the further education college in Dagenham Road bowed out of the fiercely competitive competition in the semi, after clocking 10.06 seconds.

His sports tutor Rachel Yates was in the stadium to cheer him on Saturday.

She said: “We are all so incredibly proud of Adam.

“It was a magical moment to be in the Olympic Stadium and watch Adam run in the heats on Saturday and as he came out on to the track the crowd went wild.

“It was one of the most emotional 10 seconds of my life. Adam has achieved so much in his athletics career in such a short space of time and to be running against some of the fastest men in the world in the semi-finals was an amazing achievement.”

Adam is preparing to take part in a relay race on Friday. Rachel added: “We’ll all be watching and cheering him on and the whole of Barking and Dagenham College wish him the best of luck. Go Adam!”

Read more on Adam on the back page of this week’s Post.