Scots can evoke that 2012 spirit
THE unprecedented Scottish presence in the British team for next month’s World Athletics Championships can help reproduce the euphoria of the London Olympics.
That’s the opinion of UK Athletics Performance Director, Neil Black, who along with his fellow selectors named 13 Scots – 20% of the squad – almost double the country’s previous strongest contingent, which was seven.
Laura Muir leads the medal charge, having been named for both the 1500m and 5000m, despite only recently recovering from a stress fracture in her foot.
The other 12 are Eilidh Doyle ( 400m hurdles), Zoey Clark ( 400m), Lynsey Sharp ( 800m), Steph Twell and Eilish McColgan ( both 5000m), Beth Potter ( 10,000m), Chris O’Hare, Jake Wightman and Josh Kerr ( all 1500m), Andrew Butchart (5000m) and Callum Hawkins (marathon).
More Scots could be added when the final selection wave is announced on Tuesday.
“It’s incredible what’s been happening in Scotland,” says Black. “I don’t pretend to understand whether it’s a natural evolution or if there’s a critical factor that’s driven it. But we certainly embrace it.
“We’ve got a great working relationship with Scottish Athletics and the Scottish Institute for Sport. It’s great to have those guys competing at the highest level.
“Laura, of course, is just amazing. Her performances over the last couple of weeks have demonstrated that the challenge of the injury is not significant.
“It was great to be able to confidently select her in both events and she’ll be competitive for medals.
“But this is a global championship and those races are really tough, so I don’t think we should be hanging medals around any athlete’s neck just yet.
“This feels bigger for us than Rio,” Black goes on. “It’s now up to the athletes to grasp this opportunity and produce performances that will make the whole nation proud.
“Historically, the post-Olympic year is often a relative low internationally in terms of the standards, but our aim is to buck the trend.
“Home advantage is massive. I don’t know if we will recreate the atmosphere of London 2012 but I bet it’s going to be close.”
Black refuses to publicly set a
medal target but believes that his team is strong.
“We have a lot more athletes now who know what it’s like to prepare for and compete in global championships,” he says.
“Mo and Greg Rutherford have obviously won gold before, but there’s a growing understanding among the others of what this is all about.
“I’m looking forward to two more golds from Mo and, though Greg has been injured, he has demonstrated previously an amazing ability to perform on the day despite not-perfect preparation.
“And all three Scots in the men’s 1500 mare capable of making the final.”