Morrison making the right moves

MOST athletes who fail to fulfil their potential at a certain distance have a simple choice: move to a shorter event or a longer one. Catriona Morrison did both, and what is more, she is excelling at both.

After representing Scotland in the triathlon in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Scot decided her relative lack of prowess at swimming meant she had to make a change. She moved up to the Ironman triathlon – still a swim, a cycle and a run, but far longer than the Olympic-distance event – and down to the duathlon, where the swimming leg is omitted.

Her debut in the Ironman was the fastest ever recorded, while in the duathlon she has already won world and European titles. Come September, she hopes to win a global crown again – in Edinburgh, scene of her European success. The ITU Duathlon World Championships take place around Arthur's Seat, and, with her ability married to local knowledge which is second to none, Morrison is an early favourite.

"I'm really looking forward to it," she said yesterday. "I can't lie come the day – I can't say 'I didn't train in Edinburgh', because I'll be out going round on Arthur's Seat.

"It's my race to lose, really. Hopefully I'll be able to deal with that pressure."

She was certainly able to deal with it when she won the European championship around the same course in 2007. "It was a great event," she recalled. "The weather wasn't fantastic, but as far as I was concerned it was par for the course."

Based in Holyrood Park, the event consists of a 10-kilometre run, 40km cycle, and then a 5km run. For Morrison, now accustomed to the nine hours or so for which an Ironman lasts, it is almost a sprint.

"The duathlon is a completely different event from triathlon and plays to my strengths. They're different beasts, the duathlon and triathlon, and I like them for different reasons.

"Obviously I like duathlon because I'm good at it. And after setting the fastest ever debut time for an Ironman last year I'm finding that suits my strengths, so I'm keen to see how far I can go.

"I've turned my attention away from Olympic-distance triathlon because I've never managed to be competitive enough in the swim. I did everything I thought I possibly could to improve my swim and it just wasn't happening.

"At the last Commonwealth Games in Melbourne I had a total shocker of a swim, which was a real blow. It took me a while to get back into wanting to compete again. Winning the world duathlon championships after the Commonwealth Games that year made me realise that I had a future in sport."

• The Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships take place from 3 to 5 September. More information: www.edinburghduathlon2010.com.