THE sport applauded Eilidh Child's fourth scottishathletics Athlete of the Year award in six years at a packed Hampden gala dinner on Saturday, writes Doug Gillon.
Child toasted her success with lemonade, and, less than 12 hours later, provided another lesson in what it takes to scale such heights. Not another soul was to be seen at Grangemouth when Child was on the newly refurbished track for training.
It will be a much-improved training base. Falkirk Council have provided more than £500,000 in partnership with Falkirk Community Trust, sportscotland, Glasgow 2014, and scottishathletics to bring the 2014 Hampden track there. Grangemouth has also purchased £140,000 worth of Games weights and athletics equipment. The Hampden surface will also be used to refurbish Crownpoint in Glasgow.
Child was back in Bristol with her coach, Malcolm Arnold, yesterday, completing legal paperwork for a flat she is about to move into, in nearby Frome. "I tell her all these visits back to Scotland are the price of doing well, but she gets right back down to training. I wish all athletes were like Eilidh. She has very good discipline, a bright lady. It's a pleasure to work with her."
He has been planning her winter programme: nothing radical, despite new head of performance Roger Harkins sugggesting that thinking outside the box may be needed as Scots prepare for the next Commonwealth Games in 2018. The Gold Coast, in the southern hemisphere's spring, will be challenging. "Maybe Rodger is being a wee bit assiduous in his new role," said Arnold gently. "Going to Australia for the Commonwealths is a straightforward preparation process to me. You just have to think, not necessarily think smart. We did New Zealand in January in 1990; it's nothing untoward."
That year, he coached Colin Jackson and Kay Morley to a unique Commonwealth double for Wales in the sprint hurdles. "Eilidh will be staying here this winter, not even going to South Africa. We're not doing an indoor season because Eilidh has had two long, long seasons, these last two years."
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