Athletics: Child reaping the rewards from work with hurdles guru

Commonwealth Games silver medallist Eilidh Child has claimed her technique has advanced in leaps and bounds after just three days working with new coach Malcolm Arnold.

The 23-year-old Scot linked up with the respected hurdles guru for the first time this week at her new training base in Bath, placing her career in the hands of the man who guided Colin Jackson to three world titles.

And Child revealed that her approach has already undergone a radical overhaul.

"The main difference is that Malcolm has me hurdling now over eight hurdles," she said. "In the past, I didn't even do that until March time ahead of the outdoor season. But he's said to me that I need to be doing it and I'll be running full 10-hurdle circuits. It sounds really obvious but his theory is the more hurdling I do, the better I'll become."

After spending three years juggling her day job teaching at Perth Grammar School with the rigours of competition, the Scot has decided to focus wholly on peaking at the 2012 Olympics, despite being left out of UK Athletics elite funding list last month.