Lennie ends year of hell with Euro second while Eilidh takes 400 gold

Lion-hearted Lennie Waite last night revealed the agony behind her track comeback after taking a stunning silver in the 3000m steeplechase at the European Team Championships in Lille.

The Texas- based Scot, 31, was just outside qualifying standard for the World Championships in 9:43: 33 but couldn’t wipe the smile off her face after a nightmare 12 months.

Waite arrived at last August’s Olympics in a world of pain in her foot – with fears she wouldn’t even make the start in Rio.

She said: “We knew going in I had a torn plantar which was 80 per cent ruptured. After that, it was a case of pain management. Running was fine. But getting up on my toes, thinking about hurdling, it was really hard.”

It has meant an almost total rebuild for the Paisley-born ace who recently broke the UK 2000m steeple record in the States – after she was forced to switch feet to keep making strides forward.

She said: “I’ve had to teach the brain to have confidence and learn to land on my right foot. But having gone through so much to get to Rio and then arriving there with a bad injury, it wasn’t just hard