Commonwealth Games: Clegg ready to grab T12 medal

SCOTTISH sprinter Libby Clegg insists her medal-winning performances at the IPC Athletics World Championships were just a sign of things to come as she begins making plans to claim Commonwealth gold in Scottish colours for the first time.

Libby Clegg and her guide Mikail Huggins in action at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Picture: Getty

The 23-year-old returned from Lyon with two silver medals – one in her less-favoured 200m and the other in the 100m where she was again pipped by China’s Guohua Zhou, who beat her to gold at London 2012.

The stage has seemingly been set for Clegg to rule next summer where she intends to represent Scotland on home soil at the Commonwealth Games with her T12 classification included for the first time.

But the Paralympic silver medallist insists, given her encouraging performances in 2013 and her No 1 UK ranking, that topping the podium next year is a distinct possibility.

“My event is obviously now in for Glasgow 2014 and I would like to win it,” said Clegg. “That is the next step for me – I’m No 1 in the UK and second in the world, currently, so I’d like to go there and win.

“It’s really exciting, I’m really glad my event’s been put in.

“I’ve never had the chance to compete at the Commonwealth Games and I’ve never competed for anything other than for Great Britain before so it’ll be great to compete for Scotland.

“I was actually pretty pleased with my 200m performance in Lyon, my 200 is probably my weaker event but I was really pleased with my race, I executed everything properly so I don’t think I could have done anything better.

“For my 100m I got a silver and I was a little bit disappointed that the Chinese got me for a second time, obviously, after London, but I gave my best performances.

“Then at the Anniversary Games back at the Olympic Stadium it is a very fast track and there was a fantastic atmosphere so I knew I could pull out a fast time.

“And I am definitely planning on doing something similar in Glasgow. I’d like to get a better time, obviously, but I’m really looking forward to competing in front of a home crowd, I think it’ll be a great experience.”

Clegg was named last Wednesday as a home nation ambassador for energy company SSE who are an official partner of Glasgow 2014 and of all four home nation teams.

And Clegg believes that in having another major event held in the UK the Scottish public will be able to continue on the legacy of sport from last summer’s Olympics.

“I’m really honoured to be an ambassador for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to inspire young people to get involved in sport for Scotland,” She added. “I think it’s really important that the Scottish public get behind their athletes, we’ve got a lot to offer and I think having the Commonwealth’s in Glasgow will give the public an opportunity to continue the legacy from London.”

• As a proud partner of Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games SSE are encouraging the public to get behind their home nation, and in doing so winning rewards such as tickets, merchandise and money-can’t-buy experiences during next year’s event. Follow @YourSSE to keep up to date with the latest information