EILIDH’S MEDAL JOY AFTER HER SILVER RUN
Doyle so proud after leaving it all on the track in toughest challenge yet
EIGHT years ago it was Delhi delight. Four years ago she was a Hampden highlight in front of 44,000 fevered home fans.
Yet when Eilidh Doyle took a third straight Commonwealth Games silver yesterday she insisted this was the most precious metal she has won.
Better even than the glory of Glasgow because she did it the hard way, carrying the weight of the nation’s expectation around the track with her.
The 31-year-old was bursting with pride as she led Team Scotland into the Gold Coast games carrying the saltire high into the Carrara stadium.
At the same track yesterday she fell to her knees after she crossed the line in the 400m hurdles, the emotion of her run from behind to pip South African Wenda Nel to second washing over her like a tidal wave.
It was Scotland’s 35th medal – making it the second most successful games behind Glasgow – and there’ll be no more popular gong all week than the one earned by the Kinross flier.
After the race that was won by Jamaica’s Janieve Russell – who took bronze behind her four years ago – Doyle said: “That was hard work. I’m not going to lie.
“People always think the Commonwealth Games are a little bit easier than other championships. But when you see the calibre of athletes out there it’s a strong event.
“It’s probably the strongest field I’ve raced against at a Games. So I knew this would be the toughest shot at winning a medal.
“I was just so chuffed to get one. I know it’s a silver but I’m so proud of it. It means so much. This one means the most to me. It was definitely the hardest to achieve.
“Glasgow meant a lot because I was at home. But the silver was always what was expected of me in Glasgow. It was always going to be a tall order to win gold and if I hadn’t won silver it would probably have been a bad champs for me.
“But here I could have run the best race possible and still not come away with a medal. So to be able to leave it all on the track and get a medal means the world to me.”
Doyle came off the final bend a deep third but dug deep to haul Nel in by the final hurdle then hold her off in a lungbursting last sprint.
And she added: “I was really happy with how the race went.
“I said after the heat I was just looking to execute my race and not make any mistakes – and I would be happy with the outcome.
“That’s what I did. But there was a lot more going on in the race. I knew, coming down the home straight, there was a line of us and I had to make sure I got that last hurdle right. Thankfully I did.”
Doyle was voted flagbearer by her Team Scotland mates. And she felt the burden as she lined up for the race when stadium announcer Geoff Wightman – father of middledistance Scot Jake – mentioned it in her intro.
She said: “Did I feel extra pressure? Oh Christ, yeah! Then Geoff said it when he announced the line-up. I was thinking: ‘Cheers for that, Geoff ’.
“You forget about that when you run the race though, you go on to autopilot. But it was a real special moment. And there were so many Scotland flags out there, it made the lap of honour even more special.
“It’s been a long wait for me, purely because I’ve been out here for quite a while, then I had the opening ceremony.
“In Glasgow I was in and out of the athletes’ village very quickly. So I feel like I’ve been around a long time here. I’ve been supporting everyone else. I just wanted to do my bit – and I’m glad to have done that.”
Jake Wightman suffered heartbreak in the first leg of his double. He looked set to medal in his less favoured 800m with a barnstorming back-straight run. Leaving reigning champ Nijel Amos behind he had bronze in his grasp behind Kenyan Wycliffe Kinyamal and Kyle Langford of England.
But Aussie Luke Matthews blew past the Scot on the side to nick it at the death. Wightman said: “When I went past Luke I thought he was dying. The pace he came back at was more than I expected.
“I didn’t have anything to respond. I don’t think I did too much wrong. It’s pretty gutting.”