The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Doyle quite content to play ‘Mother Hen’ role
Hurdler proud to watch more Scottish athletes progress
Eilidh Doyle, the ‘Mother Hen’ of an exciting batch of young Scottish athletes, is hoping that this weekend’s British Championships and World trials will bolster the feel-good factor for the sport north of the border.
The Kinross-shire 400m hurdler will be heading to Birmingham with plenty of her countrymen and women for company.
Scots have gathered up many medals in the past couple of years at the British Championships, and more top-two finishes this time round could propel them back to London for the 2017 Worlds, if they have already achieved the required qualifying standard.
After 15 Scottish athletes were selected for the Olympics in Rio last summer – the biggest contingent for 108 years – Doyle, who won a relay medal in Brazil, has been lifted by recent performances.
“I am so proud of what’s happening in Scottish athletics at the moment,” said the former Perth Grammar School PE teacher.
“I think I may have been described as the ‘Mother Hen’ figure – I don’t mind that, I’m embracing it! I’m just thrilled being part of it and seeing the exciting progress of so many of our athletes.
“I just want to be around to be with them and enjoy the moments with them. So, yes, I am feeding off the success of others. Definitely.
“You check social media and see outstanding results and performances and you just think ‘I want to be part of that; I want to do well, too’. It drives you on to try and add more success.”
Doyle represented GB at the Euro Team Championships at the weekend event in Lille, France, and claimed full points with a win on Saturday in a season’s best run of 54.60.
The 30-year-old has brushed aside any talk of imminent retirement, with husband Brian now her coach as Malcolm Arnold takes a less active role.
“I just don’t want to let this go, that’s the truth,” she told scottishathletics in an interview for PB magazine.
“It sounds cheesy, maybe, but I love what I do and I love athletics. I love training and I love competing.
“The older I am getting, the more people ask ‘how can you keep this going?’. But I am stopping and appreciating it a lot more now than a few years ago.
“When I am at a championships, there is that bit in my head saying ‘will I be at the next one?’ So I am making sure I savour it.
“The feeling when you cross the line knowing you’ve worked hard to be there and given everything in the race is a great feeling. I don’t want to give that up any time soon.
“Scots are performing so well and it is so exciting for our sport.
“I have to say, I am particularly excited about ones I know really well like Laura Muir, Steph Twell and Eilish McColgan. I’ve seen all three of those come through some very difficult times.
“For my own part, I’ve been very lucky in my career that I’ve not had any real big setbacks, like an injury or whatever.
“You could say the trajectory has probably been quite smooth. Laura, Steph, Eilish, all for different reasons, have had some really tough moments and some really low moments.
“It has been more of a rollercoaster for them. But I feel as if I’ve been there and seen their journey – so to watch them now is great.”
With qualifying standards already achieved for London 2017, automatic places can be clinched in Team GB and NI with a gold or silver medal this weekend by the likes of Doyle, Twell, McColgan, Lynsey Sharp, Andy Butchart, Chris O’Hare, Zoey Clark, Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman.
The full British Athletics team for the World Championships will not be named until following the Anniversary Games in London the weekend after the trials.
Laura Muir will miss the 5000m at the trials but is expected to race in the mile at the Anniversary Games after recovering from a foot injury.
“You check social media and see outstanding results and performances and you just think ‘I want to be part of that. EILIDH DOYLE