PATRIOT GAMES
Emotional pull may be only hope of top Scots competing in 2022
COMMONWEALTH Games chiefs hope an emotional lure to compete for Scotland will help them entice leading athletes to Birmingham in 2022 despite a diary logjam. Switching the Tokyo Olympics to next year has created a domino effect, with the World Athletics Championships in Oregon displaced to July 2022.
It has avoided a direct clash with the Commonwealths but the Games are now sandwiched in between the Worlds and the European Championships in Munich.
‘You’d have to weigh it up but you effectively have three days between the Worlds and Birmingham and that’s an 18-hour journey and a lot of jetlag,’ said one leading coach. ‘And then you have the Europeans starting a week later, so it’s hard to see most athletes wanting to do all three.’
That has left a major question mark over the availability of track stars like Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie, who could be forced to give the Commonwealths a miss.
But Team Scotland chief executive Jon Doig believes he can make a pitch for them to show up in the Midlands, even if it means dropping the Euros from their schedule.
‘We had some discussions with
Scottish Athletics and we’ll go through it with the coaches,’ he said. ‘There are risks, but we’re pleased that World Athletics made space in the calendar.
‘We’re monitoring it at the moment but we know different coaches and athletes will have different priorities and we’ll have to work with them on that. But it’s still early in the process.
‘What we know is that people love competing for Scotland and it’s a once-in-every-four-years opportunity.’
Some, he acknowledged, will be left making an impossible choice, with marathon star Callum Hawkins now faced with the dilemma of trying to beat his fourth places at the past two Worlds in Doha and London or attempting to banish the memory of his nightmare at Gold Coast
2018 when he collapsed with heat exhaustion within sight of Commonwealth gold.
Doig admitted: ‘Those who are doing longer distances might have very different priorities than those doing shorter ones.’
Meanwhile, Scottish Athletics director Stephen Maguire is set for talks with new UK Athletics boss Joanna Coates this week that could pave the way to an offer to become the country’s new Olympic head coach.
The Northern Irishman has emerged as a hot favourite for the role despite rejecting a deal to take over as UKA’s interim performance director when Neil Black quit last October on the grounds of his commitment to Scotland and the
absence of a clear strategy for the future from now-departed chair Chris Clark.
Currently combining his Scottish role with heading up the British sprints and relay programme, his strong ties with stars like Dina Asher-Smith and Muir are set to put him firmly on Coates’ radar as she bids to make rapid changes at the governing body.
‘A lot of athletes are going directly to Stephen for help during the lockdown, even some of the throwers and endurance athletes,’ said one source within the sport.
‘He’s trusted by everybody. And people respect and listen to him.’