The return to the fold of Dougie Walker, the last Scot to win a major sprint title, is a considerable fillip for Roger Harkins' relay project.
"I called him immediately I learned he was interested in getting involved," said the newly-appointed coach mentor for sprints and hurdles, who also wants to involve the 1996 Olympic 100 metres semi-finalist Ian Mackie in the programme.
Walker, who won the European 200m title in Budapest in 1998, and added gold in the 4x100m, was coached by the late Davie Gibson, the most successful coach at Edinburgh's New Year professional meeting.
"I've been out of the sport for 10 years, but I'm looking forward to this," said Walker. "I hope I have a lot to pass on. Davie never had any problem sharing what he did, and the sport benefited. There is no reason why the talent is not still there, and they have the infrastructure we never had."
Now 40, Walker is overlay co-ordinator for the Glasgow 2014 athletes' village and remains involved in golf course design with DJ Russell and Nick Faldo but looks forward to helping restore national sprint fortunes.
His track career ended after he was suspended for two years. A contaminated nutrition supplement was identified but rules on strict liability for what competitors have in their system made no provision for any other penalty.
His case, and that of other clearly innocent athletes exposed glaring flaws in the system, but ironically, it has taken until this week to be acknowledged. Under the World Anti-Doping Agency's new code, adopted in Johannesburg, Walker would have escaped with a caution.
If Walker's return is overdue, so too is the inclusion of Shettleston's Tewolde Mengisteab in the Scottish team for tomorrow's Abbey Dash 10k in Leeds. A member of the Eritrean squad which sought asylum after the World Cross Country event in Edinburgh, he is the first to receive a Scottish vest.
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