Simpson scales final mountain for Team Scotland
● Aberdonian will return to climbing peaks after claiming bronze in marathon
The distinction of becoming Scotland’s 44th and last medalist of these Commonwealth Games fell to Robbie Simpson with marathon bronze. Few had reached the podium over the past 11 days with so little hubris.
The 26-year-old Aberdonian has had to rely on the kindness of benefactors to combine his pounding of the roads with a sideline in mountain running which has earned him world championships.
He was unfortunately overshadowed here by the stricken Callum Hawkins whose unfortunate collapse with exhaustion gifted Simpson promotion into the top three after he bravely moved up from eighth in the closing stages and then squashed the threat of Northern Ireland’s Kevin Seaward behind him.
Momentarily, he hesitated when passing his compatriot receiving medical attention by the roadside. Competitors both, his own satisfaction was tempered just a little. “It was really sad,” he said. “I’ve spent the last four weeks with Callum and he’s been great for me for giving me confidence and showing me how the best guys prepare, so I learned a lot from Callum. That got me going – when I was halfway round and they said Callum was in the lead, I was thinking ‘I want to get to the end’.”
Gold, for the second successive Commonwealths, went to Australia’s Michael Shelly with Uganda’s Munyo Solomon Mutai earning silver. But Simpson will now return to his sideline as a human mountain goat, content to spend the summer clambering up hills at speed before perhaps returning to the marathon late in the year, with reputation burnished after being forced to pull out of last August’s world championships in London due to injury.
“At halfway, if you’d said I’d get a bronze medal, I’d have doubted you and even six kilometres from the end, I didn’t think it was possible,” said Simpson, who ran a time of 2:19:36. “It definitely wasn’t easy, but in the end, it’s not the fastest person who wins, it’s the person who handles the conditions the best.”
Namibia’s Helalia Johannes landed gold in the women’s marathon while in the wheelchair races, Australia’s Kurt Fearnley denied English duo John Smith and Simon Lawson for the men’s title and Madison de Rosario was the female winner with Sammi Kinghorn fourth, just outside her own Scottish record. “I tried my best to get something shiny and I was just off it, so I really can’t complain,” the Borderer said.
Jake Wightman enjoyed a first night of freedom since arriving Down Under three weeks ago in the hot spots of Gold Coast but the Scot insists he is ready to knuckle down and build on his bronze medal in Saturday’s 1500 metres final.
The 23-year-old from Edinburgh was not far adrift of Kenyan pair Elijah Manangoi and Timothy Cheriuyot following an adept recovery from coming fourth in the 800m less than 48 hours earlier.
However Wightman – whose team-
mate Chris O’hare toiled to eighth place – acknowledged this is merely a springboard for August’s European Championships in Berlin.
“I think even if I hadn’t medaled here I’d have gone into the Europeans hoping for a medal,” he said. “That will be up another level. It’s the same sort of race where everyone knows what they’re doing and it’ll be tough. I’m sure there will be others coming through. This is just one part of the season done.”
His potential to further evolve in the years ahead was endorsed by IAAF president Sebastian Coe who is a selfconfessed admirer of Wightman’s desire to emulate the double Olympic champion and excel over both middle-distance disciplines.
“I like the fact he is prepared to double up,” Coe said. “The 800 is not the event it used to be, not sure it is even an endurance event any more. When you started reducing rest time, you stopped the need for endurance.
“I like the idea he is doing the training that allows him to run an 800 and 1500. I like to free up the timetable so athletes can double up. I don’t think that era will come back unless you make 800 a lot tougher in terms of qualification and add more rounds.”