Experience of Glasgow can help see Doyle home
ON the tower block of the Athletes’ Village where the British Olympic Association have brought in the decorators to create a home from home, Eilidh Doyle transported a few trinkets to create a space of her own.
‘I did that at Glasgow 2014,’ she revealed. ‘I took all the cards I got and put them around my room. It was nice to read them and know that people are supporting you and are proud of you whatever happens.
‘It’s reassuring to have that and it’s a little motivation before a race.’
Not that she needs much. Not when there is the genuine hope of procuring a medal here as the 29-year-old prepares to begin her quest in the heats of the 400metres hurdles today. But Doyle has another goal in mind, to reboot a relationship with the Games that she feared was fractured beyond repair when she ascended into London 2012 on a cloud of excitement but left in the depths of despair.
The joyless experience showed in her running, when she exited in the semi-finals. But there was little to love. The occasion was overwhelming. The scale, the sensations, the noise. This time, she trusts, it will be something to embrace and to cherish and, most of all, to enjoy.
‘Very much like I did in Glasgow in 2014,’ she said. ‘I just went to the Commonwealths, had fun and I ran well. At London 2012, it was almost as if I was scared to look around me and take it all in.
‘I thought: “If I do too much, I’ll get anxious”, rather than appreciating I was at an Olympic Games. I was almost hiding away. This time I want to soak it up.
‘This is what I’ve dreamed about. I want to remember what it’s all about. It’s not about feeling nervous, it’s about saying: “This is what you’ve dreamt about”. I want to embrace it and not be intimidated by it.’
Victories on the Diamond League circuit in Doha and Monaco, where her performance was near-flawless, have ensured Doyle has joined her childhood near-neighbour Laura Muir as Scotland’s prime hope for an athletics medal.
It has taken a minor renaissance with her coach Malcolm Arnold urging her to reset last winter after a season of frustration that puzzled them both.
‘Maybe it was a lack of confidence,’ said Doyle. ‘Maybe I was on a downer after 2014. But this year, I’d trained well in the winter and it went flawlessly, with no injuries or illness.
‘I knew coming out I was in the best shape possible. But to show it in races is great. The good thing is I still feel there’s more to come. I’m going in thinking: “I can be amongst it”.’
Her rivals will think likewise. Her time, surely, is now. If she aspires to write herself into history and to follow in the trail blazed by those who she once watched and once idolised, this is her moment.
‘I was really young when I started thinking about an Olympics,’ said Doyle. ‘I always loved the Olympics. I saw one Games and thought: “This is what I want to do”.
‘I was so into athletics, even before I took part. So to now be where they were is incredible.’