Wallace quits triathlon to focus on the track

ERIN WALLACE is one of those athletes who seems to be able to turn her hand to anything. A few years ago, the Glasgow runner won 1500m gold for Scotland at the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games but in a surprise move, the teenager then veered into elitelevel triathlon. Her talent was highlighted as she won silver at the World Junior Triathlon Championships last year.

Selecting which path to go down when you are a major championships medallist in two sports is no easy task but Wallace has made her decision.

A year ago, the 19-year-old joined Andy Young’s revered training group, which includes Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie, and the teenager is focusing all her attentions on athletics, for now at least.

“I made the choice of specialising on track rather than triathlon really just based on which one I was enjoying more,” she said.

“I felt like I wanted to give track a shot now and see how far I can go. I can go back to triathlon if things don’t work out on the track whereas I feel like trying to switch to the track when you’re older would be a lot more difficult. I’d always regret it if I didn’t give it my best shot so I want to try.”

Wallace is in the midst of her winter training and this weekend she makes her assault on the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Liverpool – which also doubles as the trials for Euro Cross – competing in the Under 21 category. Wallace has been awarded a Scottish vest for the race and while she admits cross-country isn’t her favoured event, she is aware of the benefits it has in the long run.

“I’m doing cross-country because it will help me on the track,” the Giffnock North athlete said. “It’s really useful doing it through the winter and I’ve always found it’s helped me as I go into the track season. It’s so much harder than racing on the track so it’s really good for my strength.

“It helps me mentally too. When I go into a 1500m race after doing things like 4k crosscountry races, it feels pretty short in comparison.”

Also expected to run in Liverpool is Scottish shortcourse XC champion, Andy Butchart.