Van Commenee gives backing to Child

The Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles silver medallist is back in Britain after warm weather training in South Africa during January. Van Commenee watched Child in action with coach Malcolm Arnold at their hurdling base and felt the Commonwealth Games silver medallist was in good form.

Child reached the World Championship semi-final last year but didn’t set a personal best in 2011 and has been challenged to improve on that to stake her claim for London.

“Eilidh Child has been in South Africa and for certain she has a good chance (of making the Olympics),” said van Commenee. “I was out there when she was working with Malcolm and she looked good.

“Eilidh did some good times in the training in South Africa and I felt she was in very good shape – but of course it is about what happens now.’

Lee McConnell is another serious Scottish contender for London with the 400 metre runner and relay medallist aiming to make it a hat-trick of Olympic appearances. And van Commenee has offered Steph Twell and Eilish McColgan plenty of encouragement, too.

Twell is about to fly home to Britain from the UK Athletics altitude camp in Kenya while McColgan is back at Bisham Abbey this week following her return to track work after a broken foot wrecked her World Championship dream in August.

“Steph has been working very hard in Africa,” van Commenee said. “She is running fine at altitude in Kenya so she is back to full fitness. We just hope she can reach the same standards she was at before.

“Eilish has been to Bisham Abbey for rehab work early in January and then went back into track training. Medically she is almost 100 percent again now so it is about how much training she can do and how much fitter she becomes.

“It can take a bit of time but I think she still has time. Both Steph and Eilish are very capable of making the Olympic team.”

Meanwhile, the head of the organising committee for the London Games, Sebastian Coe, has said his “dream” is to see the Olympics held in Africa, and he will try to help bring the games to the continent for the first time.

The middle-distance great said Africa is a hotbed of running and deserves to host a world championships in athletics, first, and eventually the Olympics.

“We want to build a global capacity in sports, and of course the Olympic Games need to come to Africa at some point,” said Coe, speaking in Tanzania. “It’s absolutely essential at some point. It’s a continent that’s contributed tremendously to athletics.”

Coe said it would be inappropriate to suggest a timeline in which an African country might host the Olympics, but said global sports bodies need to move away from traditional venues. He said international federations will likely have to be more “hands-on” in helping a country that hasn’t hosted a major event before.

South Africa considered launching an Olympic bid following the success of the 2010 football World Cup but decided not to try for the 2020 Summer Games. It is expected to bid for 2024. Cape Town bid unsuccessfully for the 2004 Olympics. Coe also thanked former South African President Nelson Mandela for supporting London’s successful bid and said Mandela has an open invitation to visit the London Games, if he is able to travel.