Football’s loss is athletics’ gain as discus thrower Law goes from strength to strength

Graeme Souness once described Scottish football as a playground for “hammer throwers” in a (less-thanrare) fit of pique while Rangers manager. In the case of Kirsty Law, as it happens, he wasn’t far wrong.

Scotland’s best female discus thrower of her generation was a footballer in her teens with Inverness Ladies and twice received international callups from the SFA at U18 level.

Indeed, the presence of Shelley Kerr’s class of 2019 at the

Women’s World Cup in France last summer briefly had the Tartan Army regular indulging in wistful thinking and musing on ‘what might have been’.

Duncan Shearer was involved in coaching that Inverness Ladies team and those who recall the Aberdeen and Scotland striker’s powerful shooting might feel it explains why the young keeper Law suffered more than once from a broken finger.

But, instead of nursing regrets, the zen of Zane [Duquemin, her coach] has guided Law, pictured, to a happy place with the 33-year-old having put retirement on the back-burner three years ago.

Since then, Law has represented GB and NI at the Berlin European Championships and won the British title at senior level for the first time – to add to U17, U20 and U23 golds previously.

“I played football, basketball, hockey and swimming when I was growing up – I just loved sport,” reflected Law in a special interview with Scottish Athletics. “But, at 17 or 18 I had to make a decision about football and athletics.

“I’d been playing in the Inverness Ladies team and had two call-ups for Scotland U18s around that time. I was a goalkeeper but I kept breaking my arm or finger or going over on my ankle in the football and obviously that wasn’t ideal as a thrower. “Duncan Shearer used to take the training and sometimes I was in goals facing his shots! The twins Shelley and Suzanne Grant were in the team and both went on to play for Scotland. I love football but the team aspect maybe wasn’t quite for me whereas athletics was individual. So I quit football and put my full focus into throwing.

“Three years ago, after I briefly retired from athletics I joined a women’s team in Loughborough and enjoyed getting back into football.

“And when the Scotland team made the Women’s World Cup and went over to France last summer I did have a wee thought that it might have been me if I had stuck at it... but I’ve had great experiences in athletics, too, representing Scotland and GB and NI.” Recent success was jeopa ardised in the winter of 201617, however, when Law fell out of love with the sport.

“At the end of 2016, I knew there was something wrong,” said Law . “I got myself in a bad place and was in tears at one stage. I knew Zane Duquemin around Loughborough and I asked if I could come along and do bits and pieces with him. I started to enjoy throwing again. It took a few weeks but the love and the spark returned and I’ve not looked back since then.”

● Watch the full interview with Kirsty Law on www.scottishathletics.org.uk