THERE is nothing truly pre-destined, of course, but even if a talent for athletics was not locked into the code of Kirsten McAslan's DNA, then familial enthusiasm would surely have won her round.
The 21-year-old Scot is set to make her major championship debut on Friday in Prague at the European Indoors, fresh from landing her maiden UK title at 400 metres. Hers is a proud lineage with accomplishments aplenty but she may prove to be the chief among the clan.
McAslan's mother, Fiona Hargreaves, represented Scotland at the same distance at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, while her grandfather and uncle also pulled on a blue vest. Her father Euan, meanwhile, carved his own niche, obtaining British Universities titles before taking his leave.
"Athletics and sport were always part of my upbringing," McAslan says. "We just loved sport. It's been a part of me since I was little."
Still diminutive in stature, the Bath University student has latterly specialised in rising to the occasion. In Sheffield two weeks past, she profited from a fall at the head of the field to take domestic gold and eight days ago in Birmingham, she ran a lifetime best of 52.28 seconds to secure her place in the Czech capital.
It was, declared her training partner and mentor Jenny Meadows, merely a glimpse of the potential within. The former Euro- pean indoor champion, who will join the young prospect in a 38-strong GB&NI squad at the four-day event, sees many hopefuls but rates McAslan among the most promising. Others have delivered similar forecasts, which is one reason why the then-teenager was taken to the world championships in Moscow in 2013 to soak up valuable insights as an unused spare in the 4x400 relay squad.
Watching a quartet that included Christine Ohuruogu and Eilidh Child claim bronze was instructive but it left her with itchy feet. "The preparations were useful," she says. "I'd prepared myself to not be running but I did what the others were doing. I took a good look at that environment, how the girls warmed up and got ready. It made me realise how much I wanted this, to go to championships. It's definitely left me more prepared for Prague. I'm used to that environment now."
Fifth in the rankings, the final should be an ambition, with her fast-emerging Welsh team-mate Seren Bundy-Davies favourite. This, McAslan, acknowledges is an unexpected trip into the unknown. The main target in recent weeks has been acquiring a degree in Biochemistry. Everything else has been a welcome bonus.
There is a long-term plan at play, designed by Meadows' husband Trevor Painter, McAslan's coach. Running 400m is a means to an end, with the gains hopefully coming when she executes a move up to 800m once the current Olympic cycle is complete. It remains theoretical and her patience is admirable.
"My main potential is definitely 800," she says. "I did a lot of cross-country and I have that endurance base. I don't get out too quickly but I'm strong at the end. I don't know when I'll make that step up but my coach Trevor wants me to get that speed first. And I enjoy 400."
By then, who knows what she might have accomplished? Or how the five other Prague-bound Scots will have fared. All will travel with hopes of a podium placing with Chris O'Hare looking to add a European indoor 1500m medal to his 2014 outdoor bronze, Allan Smith (high jump) and Laura Muir (3000m) seeking to repeat their Under-23 success in the senior ranks, and Guy Learmonth (800m) and Jamie Bowie (4x400 relay) also with fine chances.
One proud clan will be cheering vigorously. Fiona's track career was curtailed, not quite fulfilled, because of an Achilles problem and the demands of training as a doctor. Vicariously, she can relish her offspring's experience this week and what lies beyond.
"She always wishes she had carried on and that she had realised more of her potential," McAslan says. "But I'm lucky. There's a lot more support these days and athletes have a lot more knowledge. That's why I want to spend the next two years on athletics and see what my potential is. The Olympics are in the back on my mind. I'm focusing on the year ahead. But it would be amazing to go to a Games."
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