Eilidh set to get on her mark for the national side again

Kinross hurdler Eilidh Doyle will again pull on the Scottish vest after being called up for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Eilidh Doyle was given the perfect Christmas present when she was called up to represent Scotland again. Pic by Jeff Holmes.Eilidh Doyle was given the perfect Christmas present when she was called up to represent Scotland again. Pic by Jeff Holmes.
Eilidh Doyle was given the perfect Christmas present when she was called up to represent Scotland again. Pic by Jeff Holmes.

Doyle was one of 25 stars of track and field who received the perfect start to their festive season with news of their selection for Team Scotland.

Nineteen of the athletes named on Tuesday were part of the team that rose to the challenge of a home Games at Glasgow 2014 and, spurred on by a capacity crowd at Hampden, delivered their best Commonwealth Games medal haul for 20 years.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Since that tally of one gold, two silver and one bronze, the sport has gone from strength to strength with a record 15 athletes selected for the Olympic Games and six for the Paralympic Games at Rio 2016.

Again at this summer’s home World Championships in London there were 16 Scots on the British team, captained by the inspirational Doyle, who will compete for a third successive Commonwealth Games medal over the 400m hurdles in Gold Coast.

Doyle’s fellow Glasgow 2014 medallists, 800m runner Lynsey Sharp and hammer thrower Mark Dry, are also named and aiming to replicate their podium finishes ‘down under’.

Rodger Harkins, Performance Director at scottishathetics said: “I want to offer my congratulations to the athletes and coaches selected.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“They have really performed well in the past year and made a commitment to the Commonwealth Games and to a Gold Coast event being held in April.

“I’m really pleased with the application and planning that’s already being shown and has been shown over the past few months.

“When you take in the way Scottish athletes and coaches have stepped up over the past two years – and their involvement in the Olympics in Rio and then London 2017 – then we see the strength and the depth.

“Here we are seeing that reflected in a Team Scotland selection for athletics.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“What we have with this selection is a team with a very high percentage of final contenders.

The overall selection policy for Team Scotland was predicated on a top six finish in each event and taken over the last three Commonwealth Games events – including Glasgow 2014.”

Milnathort’s Laura Muir is sitting out the Games due to her veterinary medicine studies.