The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Law swaps Livingston contest for packed Olympic stadium
Inverness Harrier Kirsty Lawwas preparing to compete in the discus at this weekend’s Scottish throws grand prix meeting at Livingston in front of a handful of spectators but instead she will be appearing at a packed Olympic stadium alongside some of the world’s greatest athletes in the London Anniversary Games and IAAF Diamond League meeting.
Britain’s 5,000 and 10,000 metres hero Mo Farah and Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt are just two of the many leading athletes who will be on show, fine- tuning their preparations for next month’s Rio Games at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Law, whose hopes of European championship and Olympic selection fell by the way side this summer, is ecstatic about being given the opportunity to compete on this high-profile stage.
She said: “I can hardly believe I’ve been given this chance. My friend Anna Jelmini came over from America and we both planned to compete at Livingston on Saturday. Then I got a phone call saying a couple of athletes had pulled out of the Diamond League meeting and asking if I’d be interested in taking one of their places.
“I could hardly refuse and it has worked out perfectly because Anna has been given a place as well.”
Law, who represented Scotland at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and competed for Great Britain in last year’s European team championships in Russia, believes this will be the most significant event she has been involved in.
She said: “I think this is the biggest of them all. It is just stacked with top athletes. The standard is so high.”
Law, who has a best of 57.79, hopes she can rise to the occasion and said: “It is going to be an amazing experience and I’m determined to enjoy it.”
The eight-time Scottish senior champion, who spent a large part of last winter training in America, admits to having been despondent after putting in a below-par performance at the British championships and Olympic trials and questioned where her career was going.
She said: “This season hasn’t gone the way I wanted it to as I didn’t perform well after returning from America. I began to wonder what was the point in it all. I lost my motivation to train andmy performances were poor.
“But earlier this week I decided I’d make an effort to concentrate on trying to finish the season on a high. It has certainly been a good week for me.”