UK Athletics guru predicts glory for Scots hope at European Indoors LAURA IS A MEDAL DETECTOR
could win a medal. There have been different reasons why it hasn’t happen. This time, it’s expected. Not necessarily by us but from everyone out there.
“It’s really important for Laura that she wins. But you don’t have a crystal ball. You don’t know what will happen. What we want is a good performance.
“If you don’t win then, so be it. But with how she has trained, it should equal a gold.”
Fort William-born Fudge has seen greatness up close after working with Mo Farah for several years, following the Olympic champion around the world to get him in top shape.
But with the Londoner winding down his career, all eyes are on Andy Butchart to step into his shoes even though the Perthshire prospect has shunned a Euro bid to focus on the worlds.
Fudge said: “Butchart has just grown in confidence with every week. He’s a cheeky guy anyway but he’s grown more every month. He seems to have a sniff of what success looks like and it has really captured him.
“We saw how hard he trained in Flagstaff and the results he had recently in the USA. Now he’s back for a bit before he returns there in May.
“Of course, you get to a certain level and then you hope to win a medal. But he’s in a very good place right now and who knows what can happen over the next couple of years.”
The production line has got lots of talent waiting in the wings with six Scots Belgrade bound including Ei l ish McColgan, who’ll join Muir in doubl ing up, Euro outdoor medallist Steph Twell and 800m medal shot Guy Learmonth.
But it’s no shock that the Tartan Army of track and field are punching above their weight, Fudge claims.
He said: “People forget Scotland has such a rich history of distance running, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s.
“There’s still a big culture for it and what Butchart, Callum Hawkins, Lynsey Sharp, Laura and others have done recently is basically saying, ‘ let’s go out and get after it and give it a go’. “It only takes someone like Laura to show that a Scottish kid, based in Glasgow, can have a crack at it and be the best in the world. “It just inspires lots of other people and there’s a lot of momentum which is building up.”