MUIR IN THE MOOD FOR A NEW SUPER SATURDAY

Laura leads Tartan charge

IN THE wake of Eilish McColgan’s stunning victory in the 10,000metres and the parallels with her mum Liz’s triumph in the same event in Edinburgh back in 1986, you would have been forgiven for feeling a little nostalgic this week.

At those Games 36 years ago, there were household names competing that will still be more than familiar to those of a certain age. British heroes such as Steve Cram and Seb Coe. Roger Black and Sally Gunnell. Linford Christie was pipped by the infamous Canadian Ben Johnson in the 100m.

And for Scotland on the track, there was the likes of Tom McKean, Yvonne Murray and, of course, Liz Lynch (soon to be McColgan). Six medals were won in total for the Scots in athletics, with ten being the record from both 1934 and 1982.

Thus far in Birmingham, the nation has already grabbed three, including McColgan’s gold, Sean Frame’s silver in Marathon (T54) and Sammi Kinghorn’s bronze in the 1500m (T54).

Today and tomorrow, there is the possibility of more and perhaps now, more than at any time since 1986, Scottish athletes are once again forcing their way into the wider public’s psyche.

McColgan’s performance not only raised the roof at the Alexander Stadium but raised the bar for her compatriots. It was determination personified and will certainly be one of the Games’ most iconic moments.

Now, Scotland looks to new world champion Jake Wightman and his fellow Scots Josh Kerr and Neil Gourley in today’s 1500m final. If that is not enough, Laura Muir takes to the track for a fascinating duel with England’s Keely Hodgkinson in the 800m. It has ‘Super Saturday’ written all over it.

For Muir, a Commonwealth Games medal is the only one missing from her collection after she finished 11th in the 1500m at Glasgow 2014 — having been clipped — and skipped the Gold Coast four years ago to focus on her vet exams.

The 29-year-old finished fifth in her 1500m heat yesterday morning to reach tomorrow’s final — meaning she has two attempts to make the podium.

‘If I can get not just one, but two, it would be very special,’ said the Olympic silver medallist and world bronze medallist.

‘It was nice to get the legs moving after Tuesday (800m heat). It feels a long time ago, and it’s nice to qualify and save as much energy as I could.

‘It’s going to be hard. The Commonwealths in these distances is really strong, but it’s an amazing opportunity to give it my best.

‘I would hate to be sitting at home watching the final, thinking I could be part of it.

‘I went to the front and slowed down a wee bit and I got away with it for a while but I knew they would come round at some point. I latched on and did the minimum possible to save the legs for the finals.’

Jemma Reekie will join her in the 1500m final tomorrow night after her disappointment in missing out on the 800 today.

Before Muir, of course, comes the trio of Scotsmen hoping for an historic 1-2-3 in the 1500m. It’s an event famous for the duels between Seb Coe, Cram and Ovett back in the ’80s. How the crowd would love to see such rivalry again today.

Cram’s influence around the track, Wightman claims, is a huge reason why we’re seeing a new golden age — with both Cram and Coe having hailed the pretenders to their throne.

‘He’s been a figure throughout my time coming through on training camps,’ said Wightman. ‘They are guys whose compliments definitely mean the most. Seb Coe and Steve Cram have done incredible things, so it must be pretty awesome for them to say that.

‘For them to be as excited as they have been with how the 1500 metres is going in Britain and my performance shows they know it’s a pretty good period.

‘I think the best bit is that, whatever happens, I’m sure there will be more global titles and medals in the future. But it would have been a shame if this period had rolled by without a global champion.

‘It’s such a golden period, whether it’s myself, Josh or any of the others, that it would have been sad to look back and say we could have done it but didn’t.’

Elsewhere, Andy Butchart goes in this evening’s men’s 5000m final, while double Commonwealth medallist Mark Dry and Chris Bennett duel in the men’s hammer.