Mark: Local heroes can make the grade in Berlin
Praise for Bravehearts
Scottish athletics chiefs have hailed the current generation of stars after three local athletes were called up to the European Championships.
Distance runner Jemma Reekie will be joined by high jumpers David Smith and Allan Smith as they head to Berlin as part of a record-breaking Scots contingent.
The total team size selected by British Athletics, after lengthy discussions on Monday, is 102.
Seventeen of the squad hail from Scotland – six years after just five Scots were selected and only four competed when the European Championships were in Helsinki.
“It has been quite a year already for athletics in Scotland on a talent and performance front and the European Championship team representation is another massive compliment to our athletes and coaches,” said Mark Munro, chief executive of scottishathletics.
“We’ve already witnessed one of our best- ever World Indoor Championships and the best Commonwealth Games medal tally since 1990.
“This is developing into one of our most successful summers in track and field in terms of depth of performance and our coaches and clubs deserve immense credit for their efforts along with the athletes.”
British Athletics performance director, Neil Black added: “I am delighted to confirm the 102 athletes chosen to compete for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the European Championships in Berlin next month.
“The standard of performances from British athletes since the Commonwealth Games in April has been extremely high and therefore competition for places to Berlin has been more competitive than ever. This is a huge opportunity for athletes to demonstrate form ahead of two global championship summers.
“The team is our largest for over 100 years and we look forward to watching them thrive under the spotlight of a major championships.”