Where there’s a will there’s a way for Ewing
Scot digs for gold in USA after breaking 50-year-old record I don’t think 2024 is out of the question
IN BYGONE times, the fictitious Ewings drilled for oil beneath American terrain. For their far-flung descendant in the real world, panning for gold will be the ambition when he lands in the USA, determined to write his name a story more fantastical even than any episode of Dallas.
Joe Ewing is only 18. Yet the world seems at his quicksilver feet. Two weeks ago, the latest off the Edinburgh Athletics Club production line of middle-distance tyros procured a Scottish Under-20 record for the 1500 metres that had lasted, untouched, for half a century. As bright as he is speedy, he has grand plans to mix it among the elite. And now, it has been confirmed that he will head to New
England in autumn on a scholarship to Harvard
University, studying economics in the noon, running track morning and night.
“Obviously, at Harvard, academics is huge,” the teen underlines. “And I went to a school where they said you need to pursue academic interests. I initially got in contact with the coach over there but it was just out of curiosity. I was just being nosy about the programme and spoke to him for a bit.
“But then I was like: ‘wow, the Harvard track and field programme is actually quite good nowadays.’ In terms of the academics, it’s objectively one of the best unis in the world. So if my athletics can help me get into anywhere like that, it’s hard for me to turn it down.” And so off he will jet to Boston, from his present part-time employ in a supermarket to consorting with the future presidents and would-be corporate behemoths of the Ivy League. The transAtlantic route, however, is well-trodden by those in whose path he dares to tread, with Jake Wightman one of the few monoliths of the mile who resisted the lure of the States.
Chris O’Hare opted for Oklahoma. Josh Kerr for New Mexico. Within his club, he has role models in abundance, a list that also includes Lynsey Sharp, whose mother Carol is his coach. “It’s impossible not to look up to the guys like that,” he acknowledges. “And even on the Glaswegian side, Neil Gourley.
“Since Carol was my coach, I’ve always been in contact with Lynsey. I’ve been training with her since I was 15. And through that, I’ve had an inner glance into the sport. I know Jake, I know all the guys quite well. And I think that makes a lot easier.
“These guys grew up in Edinburgh. They have the exact same upbringing that I have. They’re very competitive on a world stage. And so I think that does go a really long way. Just to be like, ‘if these guys are doing
I?’”
The young pup has been rapidly embraced by his elders. Gourley, a world championship finalist and Tokyo Olympic hopeful, provided the pacemaking that jettisoned Ewing to his junior landmark. Commuting to Glasgow twice-weekly to take advantage of his privileges to train at the Emirates Arena, he has grown close to a previous Olympic finalist, Andy Butchart.
“I’m now at the point where I’m not that much help to Lynsey in sessions,” the teen admits. “I’m more help with Andy. It is really, really interesting, picking his brains actually about things. And the same with Jake.”
Ewing’s new indoor 1500m personal best of 3:47.98 was good enough for eleventh on the UK’s all-time Under-20 list but he has another year beneath the senior ranks to burnish his CV. He will race Butchart and other contemporaries in Manchester this coming weekend and then regroup for a summer in which both the world and European junior championships will be on his agenda.
And then, who knows? The pattern has been established. In three years, the Paris Olympics will be almost upon us and he will be of age to dare to dream. Until then, he insists, his coach will keep him rooted in graft and application.
“The thing that I have always found so good about Carol is that, since I’ve been with her since I was 12, she almost knows me better than myself at this point,” Ewing proclaims. “I trust her to be able to take me year on year to improve.
“So I don’t think 2024 is out of the question. But I think the others are definitely raising the bar. You’re still going to have Josh and Jake around in three years time. But yeah, I don’t see why I can’t be mixing with those guys.” it, why can’t
RAFAEL Nadal’s latest bid for grand slam history was ended by a sensational comeback from Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Australian Open.
The 34-year-old Spaniard, bidding to overhaul Roger Federer’s haul of 20 major titles, was two sets up and well on course for a semi-final against Daniil Medvedev.
Nadal was threatening to roll over the 22-year-old from Greece, just as he had in the last four in Melbourne two years ago when he won 6-2 6-4 6-0.
But this time Tsitsipas had other ideas as he completed a stunning 3-6 2-6 7-6 (4) 6-4 7-5 victory to become only the second man, along with Fabio Fognini, to come from two sets down to beat Nadal at a grand slam.
Tsitsipas somehow clung on to edge the third set, even though Nadal dropped just one point on serve in taking it to a tie-break.
It was the first set Nadal had dropped at the tournament, and brought to an end a run of 35 consecutive sets won at grand slams.
Tsitsipas had his tail up and forced his first break – and the first by either player in two hours – for 5-4 before serving out and levelling the match.
The decider went with serve, with Tsitsipas firing down four aces to win one game, until three unforced Nadal errors gifted his opponent the break for 6-5.
Ever the fighter, Nadal saved two match points but Tsitsipas
nailed the third to complete a landmark victory.
“I’m speechless, I have no words to describe what just happened,” said Tsitsipas on court afterwards.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to be able to fight at such a level and give my all on court.
“I started very nervous but I don’t know what happened after the third set. I flew like a little bird.
“Everything was working for me and the emotions are indescribable. I’m really happy with the attitude I showed on court.”
Defeat meant Nadal will have to wait another year in his attempt to become the first man to win every grand slam title twice in the Open era.
He said: “Physically I was not fantastic but not bad. I was able to fight until the end, and that’s it.
“The whole issue is I missed an easy smash at the beginning of the third, an easy forehand at 2-1 in the tie-break, and then another smash in the tie-break.
“In that tie-break I made a couple of mistakes that I can’t make to win the match.”
In-form world No.4 Medvedev won the all-Russian clash with Andrey Rublev to reach his first Melbourne semi-final. Medvedev, a former US Open finalist, stretched his current winning streak to 19 matches with a 7-5 6-3 6-2 victory against his ATP Cup team-mate.
Rublev, ranked eight in the world, was clearly struggling with the heat as the match wore on and is still yet to take a set off his friend and compatriot in five meetings.
Medvedev, who won the ATP Finals in London at the end of last year and went unbeaten through Russia’s ATP Cup triumph, needed treatment on his thigh after the match.
He said: “I started cramping in my quad. I saw he was cramping also so I tried not to show it. But I couldn’t really move my left leg at the end.
“It was super tough, we had some unbelievable rallies. I think I’m one of the first players to make Andrey tired on court so I’m quite happy about it.
“To play my friend? It’s never easy but we’re all super competitive. It was one of the best matches I’ve played lately. To beat him in three sets without a tie-break, I’m very happy about that.”
There was also good news for Australian Open organisers after it was confirmed that fans will be allowed back into Melbourne Park today after the city’s five-day coronavirus lockdown comes to an end.
The crowd will be capped at 7477 for each session, which is approximately 50 per cent capacity in the Rod Laver Arena.