The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Doyle ‘over the moon’ to add to medal collection
Team captain believes future is bright for Britain after London performances
The taste of success is getting sweeter for Eilidh Doyle as the Kinross-shire athlete reflects on her 15th major international medal.
Doyle played a team captain’s role in helping Britain’s women’s 4 x400 metres relay team claim sliver on the last day of the World Championships in London.
And she admitted that the fact that, at 30, she is nearer the end of her track career than the beginning, adds to the sense of achievement.
The former Perth Grammar School teacher said: “I’m absolutely over the moon. To come away with a silver was more than we expected.
“Any opportunity you get to win a medal is incredible and it does get harder the further on in your career you get.
“It’s amazing that I’ve got another one to add to the collection.”
Doyle, who reached the 400m hurdles final, believes the future of British Athletics is bright despite a championships that only ignited late on for the home team.
Set a target of six medals, team officials will be thankful their athletes added to Mo Farah’s early 10,000m gold by delivering five in the final 24 hours of competition, including four in relay events.
“I think you’ve got to look at the bigger picture,” said Doyle. “We’ve hit our sixmedal target but we’ve also had some really excellent results from some of our younger athletes.
“You’ve got to look at who made finals, who ran personal bests, who outperformed their world ranking heading into these championships. When you really look at the data and take into account all the factors, this has been a really successful week.”
While the relay saw Doyle win her 15th medal, the same race saw fellow Scot Zoey Clark get her first.
“I don’t know how I coped with the pressure,” said the Aberdonian, who was competing in her maiden top level championships.
“I just tried to let it not intimidate me and just use it to fuel me forwards because that’s the way we’ve got to do it to perform.
“This has been an amazing experience. I’ve definitely taken a lot from it, learned a lot.
“I always find relays more nerveracking than individuals because you’ve got three other girls there counting on you and you have to work together as a team and we definitely did that.
“Hopefully it will be the start of a long stretch in this team and the first of many medals.”
Clark, who turns 23 in October will now look to next year’s Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast, where she may join forces with Doyle and take on her London team-mates in a Scottish vest.