Glasgow 2014: Callum Hawkins to join brother Derek

Callum Hawkins beat the 29-minute standard for Commonwealth selection. Picture: SNS

And Fife Olympic athlete Andrew Lemoncello is also now odds-on for Team Scotland at Glasgow 2014 after posting the one 10,000m qualifying standard that is required for selection.

With elder brother Derek already picked for the marathon, Scottish Cross Country champion Callum featured in the same race as Lemoncello in California and also beat the 29 minutes standard.

Lemoncello, the British 10,000m champion, ran 28:42.48 with Callum Hawkins just behind at 28:49.57.

Steeplechaser Lennie Waite was also in good form with her run of 9:48.17 inside the Games standard.

It is a wonderful moment for the Hawkins family from Elderslie, near Paisley, with both boys coached by their father, Robert.

Brothers Ian and Peter Stewart represented Scotland at the 1970 Games in Edinburgh with Ian winning gold and Peter fourth in the same 5,000m race at Meadowbank. There have been brothers in different Games before, also – Ross and Chris Baillie and David and Roger Jenkins.

“I am absolutely delighted for Callum Hawkins and Andrew Lemoncello,” said Stephen Maguire, the scottishathletics Director of Coaching. “They are different cases, with Andrew a more experienced athlete and living in America with his wife and daughter and Callum back home now after a spell at university in the United States. But the parallels are there. They have worked extremely hard towards these qualifying times and with the minimum of fuss.

“There are no short-cuts in athletics and for the Hawkins family to have two boys as real contenders for selection now is great news.

“Behind that basic story are years and years of hard work, training sessions, driving to competitions in England, trips to and from the United States. It takes massive commitment and that’s why anyone making qualification for a home Games in Scotland means so much.”

Lemoncello, of Fife AC, is aged 31 and went to Beijing with Team GB and NI for the 2008 Olympic Games and competed in the steeplechase.

He set a world record for the treadmill half marathon last October with 67 mins 29 secs in a mall in Phoenix, Arizona, to raise cash for the National Down Syndrome Society after his daughter, Isla, was born with the condition.

Lemoncello tweeted yesterday: “Phew! I am glad I got that out of the way. Commonwealth Games qualifier at Stanford. Four months to get a minute quicker.”

Commonwealth Games Scotland ratify selections after standards have been achieved, with the closing date early in June.

There were 19 athletes in the Scotland track and field team for the Commonwealth Games in 2010 with only 17 making the Delhi standards. Now the number with standards is in excess of 30 and the final team tally – to be announced in June – may well be doubled from 2010.

Para athlete Lewis Clow of Aberdeen clocked a T37 100m time with 13.02 in Ashford and needs one more standard for Glasgow 2014.