Mcconnell convinced mature Muir can handle all the hype

L e e M c C o n n e l l b e l i e v e s H a m p d e n h e a r t b r e a k f i v e years ago and a growing sense of maturity will allow Laura Muir to cope with being the face of Scottish athletics.

Middle distance sp ecialist Muir won an unprecedented double double at the European Indoors in Glasgow earlier this month as she successf u l l y d e f e n d e d h e r 1 , 5 0 0 m and 3,000m titles in fine style on her home track at the Emirates Arena.

The pressure was intense on the adopted Glaswegian – the 25-year-old has lived in the city for almost eight years – as the home favourite, event Ambassador and poster girl for the host GB and NI team.

Muir now insists she regards raised expectations as support rather than pressure and has her own high hop es for the IAAF World Championships in Doha this autumn and then the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

Mcconnell, who qualified for the Olympics three times in her own track and field career, feels Muir can take the strain.

“I am really impressed with the way Laura is handling the spotlight,” said Mcconnell.

“She is delivering big p erformances on the track, and medals, and off the track she is coping well with all the hype.

“Laura looks confident now a n d t h a t c o mes ove r i n t h e media inter views. Laura has a good head on her shoulders. She is sensible, she is committed and she knows what she wants and needs to do to merit the attention.

“It is clear to me that she can cope with the ner ves and the pressure that come with being a favourite.”

Mc C o n n e l l s h o u l d k n o w. For ten years or so, she was in many ways the face of athlet- ics in Scotland, shortly before t h e s o c i a l med i a ex p l o s i o n created even more profile.

“You learn from it over time,” said the 40 -year- old, who is now a mother of t wo young boys after six years away from the sport.

“If your face is up on posters, in newspapers and on web - sites, then you have to get used to that. There are knocks along the way – there is a focus that comes on you even when you don’t do well, and you would maybe rather it didn’t.

“Laura has had some knocks and she has grown from that. Arguably, these kno cks are helping her deliver the p erformances now.

“She has not made the same mistakes again. The Commonwealth Games in 2014 were painful for her. So then Glasgow 2019 became huge for her for obvious reasons – the Emir- ates Arena is where she comes every week to put in the training sessions – and all the talk about defending two titles.

“But she put that one to bed at the Emirates. Emphatically.”

With Chris O’hare’s silver medal in the men’s 3 ,000m f i n a l p l u s s i l v e r s f o r Z o e y Clark and Eilidh Doyle in the women’s 4 x 400m, four Scots came home with five medals. The tally of nine selected was a best-ever representation on a British team at the European Indoors.

“It is brilliant to have nine athletes competing for GB and NI at a European Indoors – it’s quite a number if you think a b o u t i t w i t h i n t h e o ve r a l l team size,” added Mcconnell.

“When I was competing it was nothing like that. So it is ver y good to see and encoura g i n g f o r t h e s p o r t i n S c o t- land. The big thing is: they are not just on the team – they are really good. They are winning medals or making finals or getting in contention.”

Mcconnell’s habit for picking up medals hasn’t deserted her. Even in retirement.

With the sp or t keen to tr y and right wrongs accountable to drug cheats of the past, an upgrade came her way from the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona. GB and NI were elevated from bronze to silver with Russia, the original winners, now erased from the record books.

“You want to get the medals you deser ve at the time,” said Mcconnell, who was joined in that team by Nicola Sanders, Marilyn Okora and Perri Shakes-drayton.

“It’s the medals in these perf o r m a n c e s t h a t m a k e y o u grow as an athlete; that make 2 The pressure was on home favourite Laura Muir at the European Indoors in Glasgow but she defended her 1,500m and 3,000m titles in fine style. you motivated for the following winter; and i t g ive s yo u confidence for the next year.

“Your confidence is knocked when you aren’t getting the r e s u l t s y o u h o p e d f o r a n d expected. Yet, in fact, you are delivering but someone else is cheating to finish ahead of you.

“But, having said that, to get a presentation in Glasgow at a venue where I trained for the latter part of my career – it was a really nice moment, with my family there watching. The acknowledgement is appreciated.” l Lee Mcconnell’s inter vie w appears in the latest edition of PB magazine, issued this week t o 1 3,0 0 0 m e m b e rs o f s c o t - tishathletics. Mcconnell was one of 15 athletes admitted to the scottishathletics Hall of Fame last November to join names like Allan Wells, Tom Mckean and Eric Liddell.

“Laura has had some knocks and has grown from that. Arguably, these knocks are helping her deliver the performances now”