Liz McColgan’s London 2012 ‘legacy’ fears

Published on 25/08/2012 01:33

OLYMPIC medallist Liz McColgan, pictured, has said she fears that a generation of aspiring athletes will see no benefit from any “legacy” from the London Games.

The former long-distance runner, from Dundee, directed her concern to politicians during an event in the Scottish Parliament. She said little had changed since she was young.

“I still coach kids who are paying £3 to get into a track that has very bad lighting. I can’t see them in the winter time. There’s only one toilet. There are no drinks available,” she said.

“It’s quite sad that we’ve had so much success at the Olympics, and we’ve got 112 kids who all want to be like Mo Farah, and I can see that the cycle track that’s just 100m along across the park is exactly the same, the swimming clubs are exactly the same.

“Were we prepared? No we weren’t. We are probably going to let down a lot kids who are so enthused from the success that we had.”