Smith 'on top of the world' after 50km medal double

Distance runner Logan Smith was delighted to exceed his "wildest dreams" after marking his Great Britain debut with gold and bronze medals.

The 28-year-old from Cromer, Norfolk, finished third in the 50km World Championship in New Delhi and was part of a Team GB podium clean sweep.

Smith completed the course in 2 hrs 47 mins and 29 secs despite a 4:00am start time to reduce the level of heat to which the athletes would be subjected.

He chased Alex Milne (2:46.09) and Charlie Davis (2:47.15) home, and it was a similar story in the women's race with Britons Naomi Robinson and Katrina Ballantyne first and second.

"I came out here hoping to compete well and do myself justice, but coming away with a bronze medal individually and a team gold medal, I am on top of the world," Smith told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"We packed really well. All the Brits, one to six, it's absolutely unheard of. As a team, we absolutely crushed it, and if it wasn't for the two guys ahead of me, I'd be sitting here with the European and British records - but I'm just buzzing with the time."

The Championship was put back from December because of the poor air quality in New Delhi at that time, but it remained a factor for the athletes.

"The temperatures started off at about 19 degrees, so not too bad really, but it got up to 24, 25 and 80 per cent humidity - and the air pollution was a bit of an issue as well," said Smith.

"It's not at that level where it's unsafe to go ahead, but it's higher than anywhere else in the world currently, so a lot of factors to take into account.

"I was doing a lot of saunas [before travelling to India] and getting myself prepped heat-wise, and it clearly paid off, the hard work that went into it. I wouldn't change it for the world."

British Athletics sent an 11-strong team to the event, chosen via expressions of interest from those who met the qualifying standards over marathon and 50km distances, with the race run over a road circuit with 10 laps of a 5km loop.

Smith, who warmed up by running the Sevilla Marathon in Spain in February, where he finished 69th, found the start time even more of a challenge than the heat and humidity.

"We had a 1:00am wake-up call - trying to get to sleep at 6:00pm, you're waking up a few times; your body's not really used to going to sleep at six o'clock.

"I was awake at 12 and couldn't get back to sleep, there were probably a few nerves and excitement as well in there."

Following his success in India, he now has even loftier ambitions in mind.

"I want to go to the Olympics one day, whether that's LA, whether that's Brisbane, but I've got one of them in my sights," he said.

"Or I could come back and do another 50k and maybe go for the win; there's a few different routes to go down, but I'll definitely do another marathon at some point this year."