Athletics: Twell at her best as Scottish athletes gear up for Delhi

With the 2010 domestic track season almost over, Scotland's athletes are finding it hard to keep their competitive sharpness in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in three weeks time.

But distance-running medal hope Steph Twell proved that her training is continuing along the right lines when she cut eight seconds from her best time for the 3000 metres in a mixed race at Watford, recording an excellent 8:42.75. Aldershot-based Twell has already cut her best times for both her Games events, the 1500 metres and 5000 metres, this summer and this latest run shows she could be equally at home in either event.

Capital star Al Hay, the Scottish 1500 metres champion, chose an open graded meeting at Linwood where he won an 800 metres in 1:52.46, while Lee McConnell took time off training in Italy to contest a 400 metres race in Milan where she finished fourth in 52.44, nearly a second outside her best this season.