Athletics: Young Scots impress in English medal haul

Laura Muir from Dundee was one of six Scots to win gold at the England Athletics Under-23 and Under-20 Championships. Picture: PA

A total of 23 medals were claimed across the two age groups by Scottish athletes to once again underline the emergent talent in the sport north of the border.

It was a best collective haul for five years and follows a performance by senior athletes at the UK Indoor Championships in February – when the likes of Eilidh Child and David Bishop won gold – which was the best for 18 years in terms of medals won.

Six Scots claimed golds at Bedford over the weekend, with fine displays by Laura Muir (800m), Nick Percy (discus), Emily Stewart (3000m steeplechase), Shaun Wylie (1500m), James McLachlan (long jump) and Kirsten McAslan (400m).

Now a clutch of those athletes will hope for European Championship action with Team GB and NI later this summer as the under-23s head for Finland and the under-20s to Italy.

And what seems clear again is that the carrot of Glasgow 2014 – and indeed the Commonwealth Games in Australia’s Gold Coast – is driving on young athletes and their coaches to try and raise the bar. “I am very encouraged once again by the performances of young Scottish athletes in Bedford,” said Stephen Maguire, the Irishman who is director of coaching with scottishathletics and will take charge of the track and field team at Hampden 13 months hence.

“The England Athletics Age Groups are effectively the British championships for these athletes and obviously it is a step-up in quality and competition from domestic championships in Scotland or league matches around Britain,” he continued.

“To have so many medalling there was good and there were a number of others who either made finals or delivered PB performances in the heats. Competing at your best on the ‘pressure’ occasions is very important and at scottishathletics one of our mantras is ‘perform on the day’.

“I keep stressing that you can’t be satisfied in sport. You have to keep looking to improve your own level of performance.

“We want to see those who made finals in amongst the medals and those who did get on the podium do even better in performance terms or start looking at themselves in terms of the European rankings.

“I won’t highlight individuals but it was also good to see that the medals are spread across both age groups, both men and women and across track and the field events.

“There are gaps in certain disciplines in Scotland, yes, but we are well aware of that.”

Edinburgh AC demonstrated their pre-eminence in track and field in Scotland with no fewer than seven of the 23 medallists attached to the Meadowbank-based outfit.