HIGH above the stands at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow, weightlifter Georgi Black and former international shooter Susan Jackson are catching up.

It is three years since they first met, sharing a remarkable adventure some 4000 miles away in Delhi. Jackson was a mentor on the Achieve programme run by Commonwealth Games Scotland to give upcoming athletes a taste of the big stage, while Black was a wide-eyed rookie with her sights set on Glasgow 2014.

"I knew straight away Georgi would do well because she has this incredible spark," said Jackson. "She was so curious about everything and would ask really good questions, trying to soak it all up and get the most out of her experience.

"I'm delighted to see her do so well. Georgi obviously has the ambition and desire to get to Glasgow and everything seems to be going in the right direction. The determination is there and I could see that when we were in India together."

Black is one of the Sunday Herald's Six To Follow ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. An eight-time Scottish senior champion, the 23-year-old from Kilmarnock gained the qualification standard in April. She will find out next year if she has been selected for Team Scotland.

She was one of 28 Scottish athletes, alongside long jumper Jade Nimmo and hockey player Michael Bremner, who travelled to Delhi in 2010. Taken under the wing of Jackson, a three-time Commonwealth Games medallist, she got to attend the weightlifting and cycling events, go behind the scenes at venues and tour the athletes' village.

"It's about getting your head around the sheer scale of the Commonwealth Games," said Black. "Never mind the venues themselves, you go to the food court and it's massive, going on for miles.

"You have athletes from all different sports mixed in together, each with their own routines and so everyone has to learn to adapt. It was so busy, everything full pelt. I was mesmerised by it all.

"Having seen all that, I won't feel as overwhelmed going into Glasgow. It definitely helped me prepare in that respect."

The highlight, she said, was watching as Peter Kirkbride, who she trains alongside at Kilmarnock Amateur Weightlifting Club, won silver in the 94kg weightlifting category.

"Seeing Peter do that showed me it was possible," she said. "I've trained alongside him for 12 years: if he can do it, so can I. I had been trying to train to go to Delhi to compete myself but, at that stage, I simply wasn't ready for it. Looking back now, I'm glad I waited. I now feel in a much better place - fitter, stronger, more confident - to go to Glasgow and do well."

Jackson, 40, who won gold in Melbourne in 2006, is the athletes' representative on the Commonwealth Games Scotland board.

"I have such a huge belief in the importance of sharing experiences," she said. "Having been at three Games myself, I know what I learned from other people and how that helped shape my performances.

"Like Georgi watching Peter win his medal on that big stage in Delhi, I trained alongside Shirley McIntosh who won gold in the 1994 Commonwealth Games. Seeing her do that was inspirational and made me realise that, with hard work, it was achievable."

This time it is Black who is set to inspire a new generation of Scottish sportspeople as 126 upcoming athletes and their coaches head to Glasgow as part of Achieve 2014.

"The buzz is beginning to build now," she said. "I don't think a lot of my family realised before what a big deal it all is. But now people are coming up to my mum in the street or saying to my gran: 'I've heard your granddaughter is going to the Commonwealth Games.' They are all so proud. Being a home Games makes it even more special."