Eilish’s 2012 target

“The Olympics - are getting more and ”more realistic”

EILISH MCCOLGAN’S flying start to the season has made Olympic qualification seem like a realistic goal rather than a long shot, according to the Dundee Hawkhill Harrier.

The 21-year-old told Courier Sport that her early summer form has exceeded her wildest expectations given the fact she spent most of the winter recovering from a broken foot.

Next on a busy schedule is her first 3,000 metres steeplechase in Belgium, the event she is aiming to compete in at the London Games.

Such has been Mccolgan’s progress to date, the Carnoustie athlete now admits that not making it into Team GB would be a real disappointment.

“Things have been going really well,” she reported.

“Just to be racing is great after the injury I had last year, and to be getting personal bests is even better.

“I definitely didn’t think I would be running the way I am now when I wasn’t even able to walk properly for two months.

“I’m really shocked at how well things have gone.

“If somebody had said at Christmas that I would be racing and running PBS in the summer I wouldn’t have believed it. It’s been a bit unreal.

“The Olympics are getting more and more realistic. Whereas before I always hoped to get there, now I would be really disappointed if I didn’t make it.

“I’ve trained so hard and things are going so well. Hopefully I’ll keep progressing from here and do it.”

There have only been a handful of races so far, but every one of them has been encouraging.

She explained: “I’ve run a couple of 1,500-metre races, a 3,000 metres and a 5k.

“In the 5k at Manchester on Saturday I beat my PB by five seconds. It was the exact same race I ran this time last year.

“The 3k was at the Scottish Universities Championship and I got a four second PB in that one and was 15 seconds quicker than the previous year at the same stage.

“It’s given me a really big confidence boost to be running times like this. Every week I’m getting quicker and quicker.

“Now I’m really looking forward to a steeplechase and seeing how I go in that. The other races are good for training but the steeplechase is the one I’ll be looking to run in the Olympics.

“My first is this Saturday in Belgium. It’s an event I took part in 12 months ago so I’ll be able to make another comparison.”

At the forefront of Mccolgan’s mind is achieving the A standard qualifying time for the steeplechase.

“There’s a Diamond League race in Oslo in a couple of weeks which will be my main chance to get the A time. There will be Kenyans and other top runners who will hopefully drag me along to a good time.

“Championships are harder to get the qualifying time because they’re more tactical.”

Picture: PA. Eilish Mccolgan says her form has exceeded her own expectations.