Harrow sprinter Laura Turner admits she couldn’t find top gear at the World Championships in Daegu after she failed to get out of the heats – but the Brit has vowed to make amends in the relay.

The 29-year-old could only manage 11.42 seconds in South Korea, which was good enough for fourth place and an early exit as all three Brits failed to reach the 100m semi-finals.

All is not lost for Turner, who will now turn her attentions to the sprint relay, but she is only too aware of the consequences if the British quartet fails to perform.

Last year at the European Championships in Barcelona, Turner and co limped out of the relay heats after a series of shaky baton changes – and met the wrath of UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee who gave the foursome a public dressing down.

A year on and while Turner admits she can’t make any promises, she’s convinced improvements will be made on the world stage.

“We definitely think we can do well and if we get the right combination of girls out there then we are definitely going to run fast,” said Turner - who prepared for the World Championships at a training camp funded by Aviva – supporters of British athletes since 1999.

“The nature of the relay is that people rely on other people making mistakes to win medals and that is the nature of the beast.

“Sometimes it goes in your favour and sometimes it doesn’t but you have to ride with it.”

Turner’s failure to get out of the individual 100m heats ensures that her wait for a major final goes on, having missed out at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.

But the Harrow AC ace revealed that a calf injury, suffered at the UK Trials & Championships last month, ensured she was always fighting a losing battle in the Far East.

“Technically my race wasn’t too bad I don’t think but it just wasn’t very fast. I felt absolutely fantastic in the warm-up and great going into it,” she added.

“Maybe because I hadn’t raced for four weeks that had an effect I don’t know. I am just not feeling quite race sharp but that is what happens.

“I pulled my calf at the trials and so that is why I’ve not raced for four weeks.

“I couldn’t race before I got out to South Korea. I thought I would be alright but obviously not.”

Laura Turner has been selected for the Aviva GB&NI Team at the World Championships in Daegu, Korea. Aviva's support, both at home and abroad, is helping the team prepare to compete at their best. To find out more, go to aviva.co.uk/athletics or follow us on Twitter @AvivaAthletics