MADELEINE MURRAY makes her athletics debut today for Scotland in Antrim having surrendered any ambitions to run for Australia, the country of her birth.

As a youngster she was Western Australia age-group champion at 2000m steeplechase and 3000m on the flat. She qualified for these, and the 1500m, at the national championships in Sydney's Olympic Stadium. But within a year, at 14, her family moved from Perth, where she was born, to Glasgow, and last month Murray won the Scottish cross-country title at Falkirk from a quality field. It included Commonwealth internationalists Beth Potter, Morag McLarty, and Susan Partridge, plus Rosie Smith, a podium finisher in four of the previous five years.

"I was surprised to win," says Maddie. "At the short-course championships I was second to [European under-23 champion] Rhona Auckland. I thought double the distance might find me out. I was pleasantly surprised."

So the Edinburgh University podiatry student is now happy putting her best foot forward for Scotland, having been wooed for two years, according to scottishathletics.

"I'm delighted to be running for Scotland," says Maddie - though she earned a Scottish Schools vest five years ago, in the Home Countries international at Truro. "I didn't run too well," she recalls. "I don't know if it was nerves, or what."

She was 29th, more than two minutes behind the winner, the prodigious Jessica Judd, almost two years her junior. Yet Scotland's newest recruit finished three places of Judd at the European Championship trials in Birmingham last weekend.

Maddie has had time to acclimatise to Scottish conditions, but admits it was initially a culture shock. Now she prefers the cold.

"Perth is one of the hottest cities in Australia. In winter it's still in the teens. So initially I struggled quite a lot - more breathing in the cold air than anything."

She started the sport, jogging with her dad, a marathon-runner. "I would just do a couple of laps of the block with him, about two kilometres. Then my mum saw an article in the paper about a development squad. I did well in the beep test.

"The steeplechase was my main event, but I did cross-country in winter to help with strength. Mud in Australia is not comparable. We don't get any snow, and it's usually quite dry. It was definitely different, but I really enjoy it, and hopefully that will reflect on my track season."

Winning two Western Australia titles and qualifing for three events in the nationals was: "quite exciting - getting the kit and flying to Sydney. It was a four-hour flight, and dad came with me. I was fourth in the 'chase at the nationals. If I had made top three, I might have got international selection."

She ran initially with Giffnock North, but has improved dramatically since moving to Edinburgh four years ago. She works with coach John Lees: "good, hard, consistent training, with a group of good girls, but running with some of the guys helps pull you to fast times.

"Running and study are my main focus, and when you only have two things to focus on, that helps. My partner has recently taken up running, so I'm lucky to have a training partner for the evenings."

She identifies him as Jamie Doris, formerly with Hibs. He played football for New Zealand in the under-17 World Cup, and was also capped at under-20 level, but is now studying civil engineering. "He has not done much athletics training, but last season ran 1:55 for 800 metres."

This reveals a link with a slice of Scottish athletics history. Jamie's father, Dr Alan Doris, was Scottish 100m champion in 1988, and won the 90 metres at the New Year Sprint meeting, while Jamie's mother, Claire Reid, twice won silver in the 100m hurdles at the Scottish.

The family now live in New Zealand.

This summer, Maddie plans to focus on 1500m. She narrowly failed to make the British indoor final. Now her target is to do so outdoors. Silver from the Scottish indoor 800m (2:05.90) taking two seconds from her best, encourages her to maximise speed potential before returning to the 'chase. "I did enjoy that a lot, but need to discuss things with my coach."

A two-lap chance may come at the European Club Championships in Turkey, for which her Edinburgh club is selected.

Absence with a stress fracture to a toe last year - weakened perhaps by dropping a paint pot on it when she was younger - increased Maddie's hunger to race. Progress will be eagerly watched by her 13-year-old sister back in Tasmania. Scottishathletics will now be watching her too.

THERE is progress for Scottish cross-country with three athletes in the World championship team for China a fortnight today.

Scottish and British Inter-counties champion Andrew Butchart, Scottish under-20 champion Jonny Glen, and European under-23 champion Rhona Auckland are trained in Scotland by Scottish coaches: respectively Derek Easton, Mark Pollard, and Joyce Hogg.

This will provide vital experience, but first exposure to world-level African opposition will be a shock. The early pace is hard to appreciate until witnessed first hand.