Maria’s come on in bleeps and bounds
MARIA LYLE has come a long way for an athlete who sprints short distances.
The 20-year-old from Dunbar is the 2019 Scottish Para Athlete of the Year after winning double gold at the World Championships in Dubai.
That came hard on the heels of Commonwealth Games silver for Scotland in Australia a year earlier and two bronzes and a silver at the Rio Paralympics when she was just 16 years old.
Lyle, who has cerebral palsy and runs in the T35 category, admits her success has come in
BY DAVID McCARTHY spite of spells of severe self-doubt even after some spectacular sprint success. And credits her partnership with coach Jamie Bowie with providing the support and belief that she can go from strength to strength ahead of next year’s Paralympics in Tokyo. Lyle said: “People have perceptions of you when you have a disability and that was the case for me in primary school. When I was in primary four we had a Bleep test. “I wasn’t any good at anything and everything and I wasn’t looking forward to it at all – even though my mum was the teacher. “But I thought I’d have a go and I was the last pupil standing at the end of the test. That one moment sparked my love of athletics. I joined the local running club in Dunbar and after a while started competing in disability events. “I felt a sense of inclusion with the group at the club and I loved it at Dunbar Running Club.
“That test was the first time I’d felt I could be good at something and felt a sense of achievement. I suddenly thought, ‘I can do running’ so that was a big moment for me.
She was quickly getting over the finishing line as well and her success propelled her on to British Athletics performance programmes she now admits did her more harm than good.
Lyle said: “I moved from a club environment to a more specific, performance environment. I was trying to improve but athletes at that stage in their teens need a group to help keep the enjoyment going.
“I was in a group with ablebodied guys who were on the UK Athletics Performance Programmes – they were capable of running 10.4 or 10.3 for the 100m. It was all a hugely different experience for me and it reached a point where my mental health was not the best.
“I had to come home. It was too big a step for me at that time.
“When I came back I was in a bad place and even just the basics of training in the gym and on the track needed sorting out. My mum and I approached Jamie, who we knew from around East Lothian athletics, and thankfully he’d just started getting into coaching. With his help I went back to basics.
“When we went to Dubai for the Worlds last November it was more about enjoying it all again.
“I’d reached the point I dreaded race day. But this time I was looking forward to it and it turned out far better than we could have hoped with two gold medals.
“Fortunately there’s a good wee support system of Scots in the GB and NI Para teams. It’s nice when someone can understand what you’re saying!
“Now I want to see how I can get on in a better place mentally. I want to see how I can perform.” Watch the full interview on www.scottishathletics.org.uk.
MARIA LYLE