Eilish McColgan rues end of the season after setting her personal best of the year
McCOLGAN, 21, became only the seventh Scotswoman to run under nine minutes as she clocked a time of 8.58.83.
Eilish McColgan
EILISH McCOLGAN reckons the end of her track and field season has come at the worst possible time.
In midweek the Scottish Olympian set her fourth personal best of an amazing year, taking 17 seconds off her 3000m time in Manchester.
McColgan, 21, became only the seventh Scotswoman to run under nine minutes as she clocked a time of 8.58.83.
The Dundee Hawkhill runner said: “It was great to post such a big PB at 3000m and proved my training recently has been good.
“In fact, I wish it wasn’t finishing at all because I still feel there is so much more to come and could improve my 3000m steeplechase time by a good bit.
“I’ve managed now to get into another 3000m race in Italy this weekend at the IAAF meeting at Rieti but that will be it for the track. I’ll take a bit of a break.
“The bottom line is, looking back over the season, I’ve set PBs at 5000m, 3000m, 1500m and the 3000m steeplechase and, of course, been to the Olympics for the first time.
“It was even quite windy in Manchester so to run under nine for the first time for 3000m was a good feeling. It shows I’m heading in the right direction.”
Scottish athlete Eilish McColgan hails 'pleasing' season
Scottish athlete Eilish McColgan is ruing the end of the season after her fourth personal best of the year.
McColgan, daughter of Olympic silver medallist Liz, sliced 17 seconds off her previous 3000m steeplechase best in Manchester.
The 21-year-old capped her season with a debut Olympics appearance, where she came ninth in heat three.
"It was great to post such a big personal best and a good way to end my track season," she said.
"I've managed now to get into another 3000m race in Italy this weekend at the IAAF meeting at Rieti and that will be it for the track and I will take a bit of a break.
"In fact, I wish it was not finishing at all because I still feel there is so much more to come and could improve my 3000m steeplechase time by a good bit.
"But the bottom line is, looking back over the season, I've set PBs at 5000m, 3000m, 1500m and the 3000m steeplechase and, of course, been to the Olympics for the first time.
"I have to be pretty pleased with that because at the start of it I was just coming back from the broken foot injury I suffered last August," she added.
Eilish McColgan - Life after the Olympics and the Great Scottish Run
Eilish McColgan: 21-year-old has her sights on Glasgow 2014.STV
Eilish McColgan achieved her dream this summer. She competed at an Olympic Games. But, as we all know, it wasn’t just any Olympic Games. It was a home Games in front of thousands and thousands of British supporters.
The steeplechase athlete recovered from a broken foot in time to race in London. Now, as the Paralympians take centre stage, she is starting to adjust back to normal life in Dundee with her family including her coach and mother Liz McColgan, one of Scotland’s most successful athletes ever.
The 21-year-old was in Glasgow at the weekend to support the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run ‘Super Saturday’, a day of family events aimed at getting the next generation of athletes involved.
She said: “It is a bit weird being home again and going back to normal life. I start back at Dundee University on September 10 to finish the rest of my third year course of maths and accountancy.
“At the Olympics, you are in a little bubble for four weeks. You see the same people every day and you hang out with the same people. The food hall is open 24/7, there is absolutely nothing you have to worry about. Everything is set out and done for you. It is a shock to come back home and fend for yourself.”
At London 2012, many British athletes spoke about the once in a lifetime opportunity of competing in the pinnacle event of their sport in front of a home crowd.
Eilish was one of the British athletes lucky enough to compete in the Olympic Stadium. She finished ninth in one of the heats for the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase and her experience there was quite different than the first race of her season.
“The Olympic stadium - 80,000 people,” she said. “I have never experienced anything like that in my life. My first race of the season, coming back from injury, was at the Scottish University Championships in Grangemouth at the end of April. There must have been 15 people in the stand, in was freezing cold, it was raining heavy.
“To go from that to a couple of months later at the Olympic Games was a dream come true and something I could never have imagined happening.
“In the (Olympic) stadium, it was just a noise. There were people shouting, cheering on whoever they wanted. It was a really weird experience and something I will always remember.
“In the medical centre, there was a big wall with all the medal charts so when anybody won a medal it went straight up on the board, a picture of them, the medal. Everybody was keeping count of what was going on.
“One night, we stayed in the apartments to watch it on TV and you could hear people in all the apartments around us all screaming and shouting at the TV, supporting the team like everybody else.”
Organisers of London 2012 were always hoping there would be a lasting legacy from the Games. While it is too early to judge if the next Mo Farah or Jessica Ennis will flourish as a result of the Olympics, Eilish has already seen the positive impact the exposure has made to athletics.
She said: “In my local running club, the Dundee Hawkhill Harriers, there was 122 kids up the other night. They have started coming up an hour early to watch us train. They shout my name as I run past.
“It didn’t happen to the same extent before the Olympics. The didn’t come to watch us train and they wouldn’t have known my name.
“One of the little girls on Tuesday night asked if I had met Tom Daley. I said yes. She went off screaming to her friends. She then asked if I had a picture with him. I said yes, so I printed her the picture. I gave it to her on the track and you would have thought I had given her the best thing ever.
“These kids look at me now and think ‘she made the Olympics, she lives here, she trains, we live here, we train here’.
“I remember going into schools at Easter. I asked the children if they could name an athlete. The only one they knew was Usain Bolt. I asked if they could name me a British athlete, and they couldn’t name Mo or Jess.
“Now, the kids know Mo, Jess, Hannah England, they know everyone now. It is from the Olympics, a buzz that has been left.”
Great Scottish Run
Part of that buzz certainly was in the air as hundreds of young runners and their families enjoyed the Great Scottish Run family day on Saturday in Glasgow’s George Square.
Eilish said she was delighted to be there and support Scotland’s next generation of runners.
“The Great Scottish Run is something I always enjoyed doing,” she commented. “It is great to speak to the kids. I did this event when I was 12 or 13 when it was in Glasgow Green. It is a good event to be part of.
“Every kid out there thinks it is the best day ever. They have their medals, you see how happy they are. Every child enjoys running around playing, they are so energetic. It is a good thing to do get them involved at a young age.”
So what next for Eilish? If she can stay clear of injuries, she will be one of Scotland’s best hopes of landing a medal when the Commonwealth Games come to Glasgow in two years time.
Later this month, she travels to compete in the Fifth Avenue Mile race in New York. After a short break, she will then embark on an intensive period of winter training in a bid to be ready for next year’s World Athletics Championships in Moscow.
She said: “I am really, really fortunate to have Glasgow 2014 on the horizon. Being a Scottish athlete in front of a Scottish crowd, that really will be something special.
“My mum always said to me the one stand out performance that she had was the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. She said that was, by far, the loudest thing she ever experienced.
“I am really, really lucky that I do have the option of three homes games as the 2017 World Championships are in London. I am really lucky to have these games at the right time in my life.”
For now though, it is back to university and home comforts.
Woodlands welcomes Eilish
Published on Friday 14 September 2012 06:00
CARNOUSTIE Olympian Eilish McColgan recently visited Woodlands Primary School in Carnoustie to speak at assembly about London 2012.
She told the children which athletes had inspired her and about her training schedule and the importance of making healthy choices when you are young.
She also spoke about her feelings when she stepped into the Olympic Stadium and the youngsters were privileged to see some of her pictures and the equipment she wore to compete in.
Eilish ended her visit by presenting the new primary seven house captains with their badges. Our picture shows Eilish with some of the children.
Liz McColgan tips daughter Eilish to medal at Rio 2016 Olympics after storming in Team GB for London 2012
Eilish McColgan reacts after securing her spot at London Olympics
LIZ McCOLGAN knew nine years ago that her daughter had the talent to reach the top – but reckons it will be another four years before she actually gets there.
Eilish is on her way to the London Olympics after destroying the field in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the Aviva Trials in Birmingham on Sunday.
But Scottish track legend Liz insists it will be at the 2016 Games in Rio when her girl is really ready to go for Gold.
The 21-year-old won easily, if slowly, on Sunday in 9mins 56.89secs despite a throat infection that made her contemplate pulling out of the event altogether.
Her proud mum wiped away a tear at the finishing line before attempting to ensure her girl won’t be burdened with unrealistic expectations this summer.
Liz said: “I first thought Eilish had something when she was 12 years old, but when she gets to the London Games this summer she’s still developing. If she makes the final it will be fantastic.
“This one is about experience and she’s got to enjoy being part of the team and get used to what the team is all about. She must go and soak it all up.
“London is going to be really special and it’s great she’s going to be a part of it now. I’ll tell her to enjoy everything that comes with the Olympics.
“However, for Eilish it is more about what happens in four years’ time.
“I believe she could medal in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and also at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.”
Liz enjoyed a glorious career, winning gold twice at the Commonwealth Games, once at the World Championships, a silver at the Seoul Olympics in the 10,000m and a host of marathon titles.
But she insists she takes even more pleasure from watching her daughter.
She said: “It’s far better seeing her do it. That gives me much more pride than anything I did. Nothing compares to it.”
Mum sets McColgan two-year target
Eilish McColgan celebrates winning the steeplechase run. Picture: Getty
Published on Tuesday 26 June 2012 01:30
Eilish McColgan booked her place at the London Olympics with a commanding performance in the 3,000 metres steeplechase at the Aviva Trials on Sunday, but yesterday her mother Liz warned it will be a couple of years before we see the best of the 21-year-old.
McColgan junior was one of two Scots to win an event at the three-day trials in Birmingham, the other being Lynsey Sharp in the 800m. And her victory over the gruelling seven-and-a-half-lap race was all the more impressive given that she had been ill throughout the preceding week.
But winning at UK level is just the start. Before Eilish becomes a contender at world level, she will need a couple more years’ experience, according to her mother – and she should know, having won world championship gold and Olympic silver over 10,000m.
“When she gets to London, if she makes a final then I think that’s fantastic,” said Liz, who is also Eilish’s coach. “But Eilish is more about four years’ time and that’s always been the case.
“I think she could medal in Glasgow [at the 2014 Commonwealth Games] and she could medal in Rio [at the 2016 Olympics].
“I’ll tell her to enjoy everything that comes with the Olympics. This one is about experience and she’s got to enjoy being part of the team, being away, getting used to what the team is all about.
“She’s got to go and soak it all up. London’s going to be really special, and it’s great she’s going to be a part of it now.
“But we need to go away now and get some training done. I think she can still run a lot faster. I’m looking for her to run sub 9min 30sec. The Olympics was one of the goals, but running 9:30 by the end of the year is another.”
The winning time on Sunday was 9:56.89, which may make it look as if McColgan has an almost impossible task to achieve the goal set by her mother. But that time was set in a race which was all about conserving energy and ensuring she finished in the top two – all she needed, having already recorded a qualifying time, to make sure of a place in the Great Britain team for the Olympics.
If she had been fully fit, McColgan would either have broken clear with two or three laps to go or at least forced the pace. Either way, she could easily have run five seconds or more faster.
As it was, having been close to being forced to pull out of the trials, she was simply relieved to make it round and claim the victory. The time was at most of secondary importance.
“She was really ill,” Liz said. “I was so concerned that I contacted the doctors back home and she was put on antibiotics.
“She had really bad headaches and a throat infection. It was really red, that’s why she got the antibiotics. She’s been on them for three days, just pumping them in there to see if she could get rid of it.
“I was able to tell her I’ve run through colds and dealt with it. She did some of the things I did, although she didn’t really like gargling with bicarbonate of soda.
“It was touch and go whether she could really perform at her best. It definitely changed her tactics. She was just going for a top-two place: I didn’t care whether she won or not.”
Having qualified for London, McColgan will not now compete at the European Championships, which begin tomorrow in Helsinki. Four other Scots – Eilidh Child, Sharp, Lee McConnell and Mark Dry – will still go, however, and it will be announced today whether Steph Twell, who missed the trials with a foot injury,will join them.
The omission of trials 1,500m bronze medallist Chris O’Hare from the team for Finland remains a talking point, given he is ranked above the twoathletes competing in the event instead of him. Tom Lancashire was fifth in the final, while James Brewer failed to qualify from the heats.
Cold soar
HIGH FLYER ... Eilish McColgan on her way to glory in steeplechase trials
Pic: Getty Images
By GARETH LAW
Published: Today at 00:15
LIZ McCOLGAN has revealed just how close she came to killing off her daughter’s Olympic dream.
The former 10,000metre world champ’s kid Eilish grabbed the 3,000m steeplechase victory she needed at the GB trials on Sunday to qualify for London. But she’d been dogged by a cold in the build-up to the race which left her unable to train — and Liz, also her coach, on the verge of pulling her out.
Liz, 48, admitted: “Eilish was really ill and it was touch and go whether she would run. I was so concerned I contacted the doctors back home and she was put on antibiotics.
“She had really bad headaches and a throat infection. It was really red, that’s why she got the antibiotics.
“I told UK Athletics because I didn’t want them to think it was an excuse. She was really ill and still not well right up until Saturday.
“I was able to tell her that I’d ran through colds and dealt with it. She did some of things I did, although she didn’t really like gargling with bicarbonate of soda!
“Luckily enough, she made it.”
Dundee ace McColgan, 21, had needed a top-two spot in Birmingham to guarantee her Games place after clocking the A standard qualifying time earlier in the season.
She tripped at the water jump on Sunday but her winning time of 9.56.89 was nearly six seconds ahead of second placed Hatti Archer.
Liz said: “It was touch and go whether she could really perform at her best but I knew she was capable, even under-performing, because I know the shape she’s in.
“I didn’t care whether she won or not. It was really important to get in the top two. I need to do some training with her now because of the time she’s missed out. She won’t be steeplechasing again till the Olympics.”
McColgan’s place at the Games is even more remarkable considering she was on crutches at Christmas after breaking her foot 10 months ago.
Liz admits they always looked on London as a bonus — and that Glasgow and Rio are where they’ll expect her to run to glory.
She said: “I actually walked away when Eilish fell on the jump because I know what happened last year.
“When things like that happen, your heart’s in your mouth. It’ll be a lot easier watching her in London.
“She’s getting very competitive. If she makes the final at London then I think that’s fantastic. But Eilish is more about four years time.
“I think she could medal in Glasgow and she could medal in Rio. She’s her own person, she’s got great aptitude and she’s been brought up knowing what running is all about.
“I’ll tell her to enjoy everything that comes with the Olympics. This one is about experience and she’s got to enjoy it and getting used to what the team is all about.”
Liz added: “I think she can still run a lot faster. I’m looking for her to run sub 9.30.”
Meanwhile, Steph Twell’s Olympic dream looks over after she pulled out of the trials with a foot injury.
Scots athlete Eilish McColgan celebrates making Team GB for the 2012 Olympics
LIZ McCOLGAN rushed to embrace daughter Eilish as Scotland’s track queens made Child’s play of Olympic qualification yesterday.
Eilish is on her way to London with Team GB after romping to glory in the 3000m steeplechase, even though she was almost pulled out of the Birmingham trials by her worried mum, concerned with her girl’s throat infection and headaches.
She’ll be joined in the squad by Eilidh Child, who won 400m hurdles silver which, along with the “A” standard time she set earlier in the season, guaranteed her place at the Games with gold medallist Perri Shakes Drayton.
McColgan, 21, dropped to her knees at the Alexander Stadium after finishing in 9.56.89, well outside her personal best. However, it mattered little as she had already set the qualifying standard and needed only a top- two finish.
She then hugged her proud mum who had rushed down from the stands to salute her girl, who had stumbled into the waterjump on her first lap before recovering to win with ease.
McColgan, who has fought back from a broken foot, said: “After almost drowning early on it was great to win – and it’s fantastic having someone with me who’s been there and done it.
“After the year I’ve had, if someone had said I’d be going to the Olympic Games this year I would have laughed at them.
“At Christmas time I was on crutches and couldn’t walk. To come from that? It’s amazing.
“I was nowhere near even going out for a jog and I’m just so happy I’ve come through that injury and won this race.”
McColgan broke the field with two laps to go – Edinburgh ace Emily Stewart held on for third – and admitted she was soon in her flow once the butterflies settled following her stumble.
She added: “I could have done without the fall on the first lap. I was panicking and so much was going through my head.
“My first lap obviously wasn’t the best but I felt okay towards the end and I got into running like I normally do
“Now I feel like wrapping myself up and not moving before the Olympics. I’ll do flat races and get my times down.”
Olympics: Eilish McColgan and Eilidh Child grab GB slots
Eilish McColgan competes in the 3000m steeplechase (Getty)
By STUART BATHGATE Published on Monday 25 June 2012 01:50
EILISH McColgan and Eilidh Child have become the first Scottish athletesto be assured of their places at the Olympic Games, thanks to their performances at the Aviva Trials in Birmingham yesterday.
Child had to make do with second place behind Perri Shakes-Drayton in the 400 metres hurdles but, having already recorded the ‘A’ qualifying time, knew that was enough to join the Londoner in the team. McColgan, who had been ill all week and on the verge of pulling out of the meeting, ran a more tactical 3,000m steeplechase than she would have if fully fit, but took command in the last lap to win with something to spare. Neither woman managed a flawless race – Child stuttered on the last hurdle when in the lead and McColgan had an early stumble on the water jump – but this event was about qualification, not perfection.
“I could have done without the fall,” McColgan said after clocking 9min 56.89, more than five seconds clear of England’s Hatti Archer. McColgan’s fellow-Scot, Emily Stewart, was third in 10:02.85.
“I was panicking, so much going through my head,” continued the Dundonian, who came into the meeting with an A standard already under her belt. “I kept thinking ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic’, and when you think like that you end up tripping up.
“My first lap wasn’t the best, but I felt OK towards the end. I felt like I was getting into myself and running again like I normally do. I’m really pleased to be able to pick up like that at the end and to pull away from everyone. I felt good.”
At times last week, McColgan was unsure she could run, and her mother and coach Liz had to think of withdrawing her from the trials. Not long ago the 21-year-old regarded getting to the Olympics as a near impossibility, after she broke her ankle last season.
“At Christmas time I was on crutches and I couldn’t walk,” she said. “To come from that – if someone said I’d be going to the Olympic Games this year I would just have laughed at them.
“It was so unrealistic back then. I was nowhere near even going out for a jog, never mind coming here. I’m just so, so happy to come through that injury, come through illness now and win this race. I’ll just have to make sure that my preparations are perfect for the Games.”
Liz, who was by the side of the track to greet her daughter barely 30 seconds after her win, said she was prouder of Eilish’s achievement than anything she did in her own illustrious career, which included winning the 10,000m at the 1991 World Championships.
“It’s far better seeing Eilish do it,” she said. “That gives me much more pride than anything I did in athletics – much more. Nothing compares to it.
“I was really nervous, the first time I’ve ever been this nervous watching her. She’s got to go and soak it all up. London’s going to be really special and it’s great she’s going to be a part of it now.”
McColgan 'so happy' as she overcomes injury to secure place in Team GB
Pete Jamieson
Eilish McColgan has grown up hearing tales of mother Liz's accomplishments at every level on tracks around the world.
The sign says it all . . . Eilish McColgan celebrates victory in the 3000m steeplechase at the Olympic Trials. Picture: Jamie McDonald/Getty
Inevitably, it has cast a shadow over Eilish's career, but the 21-year-old is slowly constructing her own legend.
At the UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham yesterday, McColgan The Younger collected her first national title in the 3000 metres steeplechase. With the championships doubling as the Olympic trials, the Scot can now prepare for London.
McColgan's time of 9min 56.89sec was unspectacular, but given that she had been ill and unable to train over the past week, the sole target was achieving the required place in the top two.
"There was a lot of pressure on her going into the race," admitted Liz in her duel capacity as proud mum and concerned coach. "She's got to learn how to perform when things don't go right for you."
Barely nine months ago, McColgan was carried off the track at Crystal Palace with her foot broken and her ambitions stalled. As 2012 began, merely walking unaided was the primary goal. Things have progressed quicker than she could ever have hoped.
"At Christmas time I was on crutches and I couldn't walk," she said. "If someone said I'd be going to the Olympic Games this year I would just have laughed at them. It was so unrealistic back then. I was nowhere near even going out for a jog, never mind coming here.
"I'm just so, so happy that I've been able to come through that and win this race."
Slip dash
BRIT SPECIAL ... McColgan salutes reaching London along with fellow Scot Child
Pic: Getty Images
By GARETH LAW
Published: Today at 01:34
EILISH McCOLGAN will soak up her Olympic dream — after fearing she’d DROWNED in the 3000-metres steeplechase.
The Dundee ace finished almost six seconds ahead of nearest rival Hatti Archer.
She shrugged off a cold which almost prompted mum and coach Liz to withdraw her in Birmingham.
SunSport columnist Eilidh Child will join her in London after a slip pushed her down to second in the 400 hurdles final.
McColgan, 21, who was on crutches with a broken foot just six months ago, feared the worst when she slipped at the water jump early in her race.
She said: “After drowning when I fell it was great to win. I could have done without the fall.
“I kept thinking ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic’ and when you think like that you end up tripping. My first lap obviously wasn’t the best but I felt OK towards the end.
“I felt I was getting into myself and running like I normally do.
“I’m really pleased to be able to pick up like that at the end and to pull away from everyone.
“I couldn’t train this week because of the cold but selection policy is you must do the trials and finish in the top two so to secure my place I had to be here.
“It was a joint decision between myself, my mum and UK Athletics to come and do the race and just see how it went.
“At Christmas I was on crutches and couldn’t walk. If someone said I’d be going to the Olympics I’d have laughed. It was so unrealistic back then. I was nowhere near even going out for a jog, never mind coming here.
“I’m just so happy I’ve been able to come through that injury, come through illness now and win this race.
“I’ve not had the best opportunity to race this year. Before Oslo I banged my knee in training and I couldn’t train for a whole week.
“After my cold this week I feel like wrapping myself up and not moving before the Olympics!”
Mum Liz, 1991 world 10,000 metres gold medallist, said: “There was a tear at the end but it’s far better seeing Eilish do it.
“That gives me more pride than anything I did, much more.
“Nothing compares to it. That was the first time I’ve ever been so nervous watching her.
“But she’s an athlete in her own right. She’s Eilish McColgan, not Liz McColgan. She’s got to go and soak it all up. London’s going to be really special.”
Like mother, like daughter: Liz and Eilish McColgan
By TOM ENGLISH Published on Sunday 17 June 2012 02:18
WHILE strolling through Oslo ten days ago, Eilish McColgan hit on an idea for a picture for her mother, a reminder of an old friend and past glory.
She went to the Bislett Stadium, to the statue that celebrates the all-too-brief life and times of the great Grete Waitz, world champion in the marathon in 1983, silver medallist at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, winner of nine New York City marathons and now sadly deceased for just over a year, a victim of cancer – beloved by the people.
For a spell, Grete was coach to Liz. Not just a coach, a pal, too. Grete and her husband, Jack, came to visit even when the cancer was taking hold of her. Eilish remembers it well. “They came over about two years before Grete passed away. It was when Grete was really ill. She had just been diagnosed so she was really, really ill but she was still up at half-four or five in the morning to go for a jog on the treadmill just because she had done it every day. It was her routine to do it. I was lying in my bed and she was getting up to train. My mum kept mentioning her statue in Oslo, so I thought I would run out and get my picture taken so I could send it to my mum.”
The picture landed and it meant a lot. Oslo had been good to Liz all through her career. She ran well there. On occasion she ran historically well. There was a time when Ingrid Kristiansen was considered unbeatable but beaten she eventually was and it was Liz who beat her and she did it in the stadium with the statue.
“You know, it was the first time it hit home,” says Liz, the world champion and Olympic silver medallist. “When she sent me back the picture from Oslo I actually sat down and thought it was really surreal. I was the first European to beat Ingrid Kristiansen, so I did a lot of good running in Oslo and Grete was my coach. I was thinking, ‘There’s my daughter doing what I used to do’. I’m really, really proud of her.”
Why Oslo? Well, that’s why we’re here, in a corner of a changing room in a park in Dundee. The night before the stroll and the picture outside the Bislett Stadium came the running inside it. A Diamond League meeting and a world class field. Some phenomenal operators including Usain Bolt – and Eilish McColgan, 21 years old and only starting out in the game her mother conquered. That night she broke the Scottish record in the 3,000m steeplechase and made the A standard for the Olympic Games. Some say she is a formality now for Team GB but the smidgeon of uncertainty can disappear entirely if she has a top-two finishing spot in the forthcoming trials in Birmingham. Nobody can doubt her at this stage.
But she has to tell a story. Oh. My. God. This is how it was, OK? Last August, she was running at Crystal Palace. She was on schedule for a time that would have qualified her for a place in the world championships20 years after her mum had become world champion in Tokyo. At the second last water jump she came a cropper, her foot landing awkwardly and going pop. “I was right up there with girls who had run about 15 seconds quicker than me. I couldn’t believe the position I was in, so I knew I was running quick. I saw the clock with a lap to go and worked out I was under the world champs time so I kept running on it. The last water jump I landed on that foot again, and I went totally under the water, I was like crawling out. You see it on the TV. I just disappeared for about ten seconds! We didn’t know I had broken my foot until the end, when I literally couldn’t move. I had completely snapped the bone and because I had kept running I had displaced it, so the bones all around it were all damaged as well. I had to go for surgery so now I have five screws and a little metal plate just on the bone. Forever.”
It’s been a hell of a comeback. But there is another accident to report. In training this time, just a few days before the Norway trip when she was supposed to be wrapping herself in cotton wool. She sensed it coming. The more careful she was the more certain she became that something weird was going to happen. “I ended up clattering into a hurdle. Instantly I thought I had broken my kneecap. I was hysterical, just rolling around on the floor. It just wouldn’t stop bleeding as well. But straight away my mum said, ‘Calm down, we’ll get some ice’.”
Ah, mum. She comes in the room and talks about her girl, how she’s a different shape, different height, different upbringing, different everything, bar one thing. In terms of their love of competition, they are the same. In Liz’s vast medal collection there is a silver from the world indoor championships, a piece of metal that is distinguishable from the others by a dent in the corner, the product of the baby Eilish in her teething phase – “and then she let it drop. If anybody ever tries to pawn it, you’ll know it’s mine.
“Eilish has always had it,” says her mother, talking about her determination and mental strength. “She’s come from a different background than me. She’s had a lot of home comforts that I didn’t get, but there’s always been something in Eilish that she’s always wanted to run. I never started her running, she started herself running. So many parents push their kids and the kids end up not enjoying it. I never used to take the kids to the track, I never took them to the races with me, it was all very separate. She’s always wanted to do it. It’s just in her. Although she’s a very nice girl, when it comes to running she has the killer instinct in and she thrives on it.
“We’re different. I was too serious about it. Eilish, although she’s serious she still has a lighter side. She’s not as intense as I was. I was 100 miles an hour all the time, always pushing. When I started running it was all about getting away from things that were troublesome to me. I never thought I would be an Olympian. Very few girls ran back then. There were no role models. It was never something I thought I was capable of doing. I ran to escape the lifestyle I had and the problems I had, to be on my own where nobody could bother me. When I started getting good I started getting a little bullying because I was doing something all the other girls weren’t doing, so it was really difficult when I was younger. It just took off after I went to the States and then there was the Commonwealth Games and then everybody was your mate. Everybody wanted to run. Eilish is fortunate that she’s not coming to it from that end. She’s in it because she enjoys doing it and she’s very good at what she’s doing.”
There’s a story they both tell about Liz’s Olympic silver. What Eilish wouldn’t give for one of those. To think that her mother’s precious medal sat in a drawer for 13 years before she felt ready to take it out and show it to people, to think that for all that it represented regret rather than glory to the woman who worked so hard to win it.
“She is still to this day disappointed with the silver medal,” says Eilish. “It wasn’t the fact that I didn’t get the gold,” explains her mother. “It was the fact that I let myself be coerced into doing something in my training I didn’t feel was right for me. I should have stood up and said, ‘No, I don’t want to do this’. But I just rolled with it and rolled with it and ended up getting a silver instead of the gold, but that’s for me to live with and cry about.
“When I got the silver I just put it in the drawer and never looked at it again, never showed it to anybody because I felt that I let quite a few people down and, when I saw Paula Radcliffe sitting at the side of the road in Athens, I just thought to myself, just to get a medal is pretty good, it’s hard to get one and not everyone’s dreams are met, so it brought it home to me that I shouldn’t be quite so disappointed with it. I went and hauled it out and put it with the rest of them and I’m not afraid to show it to people now.”
They’re quite a double act. The upside of having your mum as coach? “She’s done everything I would want to achieve, so I know what she’s saying is right.” And the downside? “Just the general fighting between mother and daughter, I suppose. We are both similar in the fact we are both pretty stubborn. There will be times when we are not speaking and I’ll still go to training.”
The silence never lasts long, though. They have too much talking to do, too much planning. Oslo then, Birmingham now and soon, with fingers crossed, London and the measure of both their dreams.
Eilish brings out mother’s pride in me
GOLDEN GIRLS ... Eilish and Liz McColgan
STUART WALLACE
By ROBERT THOMSON
Published: Today at 00:01
LIZ McCOLGAN insists her daughter can strike gold — after watching her fight back from the agony of a career-threatening injury.
Eilish, 21, was warned last year that a broken foot could have killed her dream of athletics glory.
But she has refused to give up — and now proud mum Liz believes she’ll follow in her footsteps by achieving medal success in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
McColgan smashed her Scottish 3,000m steeplechase record in Oslo and heads to Birmingham for the Olympic trials next weekend.
Liz — who won World Championship and two Commonwealth golds at 10,000m — said: “I’ve always believed Eilish had the ability. The way she’s bounced back has proved she’s a special talent.
“It was tough for her. She was told she wouldn’t get back. There was a bit of me which thought that too, but I never showed it.
“She is so determined. In my opinion she can win a Commonwealth Games medal.
“The Olympics this year is just about getting experience.”
paula radcliffe, eilish mccolgan, liz mccolgan Image 1
LIZ McColgan believes her daughter Eilish can strike gold at Glasgow 2014 – and emulate her mum’s Olympic silver medal success two years later in the Rio Olympics.
Liz has coached Eilish since the age of 12 and is convinced the battling instincts that saw the 3000-metre steeplechaser battle back from a career-threatening broken foot last year will propel her to the very top of her sport.
And as the 21-year-old stands on the brink of making Team GB for London 2012, her proud mum said: “Eilish has true guts, spirit and desire to make it to the top.
“She won’t get a medal from these Olympics. This is all about her getting away and experiencing the atmosphere at a huge event.
“But in 2014 I think she has a really good chance of a medal and possibly even in Rio.”
Olympic hopeful Eilish McColgan sneaks into Usain Bolt's loo
SCOTS athlete Eilish McColgan has revealed how she sped to a new personal best – after sneaking in to use sprint superstar Usain Bolt’s personal toilet at an event.
The daughter of former Olympic silver medallist Liz McColgan was caught short minutes before a 3000m steeplechase at a meeting in Oslo last week.
She searched around for a free toilet but couldn’t find one – then spotted a loo lying empty.
Eilish said: “The queues for the cubicles were horrendous but one toilet never seemed to have anyone at it.
“I really needed to go so went in but as soon as I came out, I saw Usain Bolt surrounded by his massive bouncers.
“I quickly realised why the room was empty – it was probably reserved just for him.
“He smiled but his bouncers just glared at me so I got out of there as quickly as I could.
“I couldn’t stop staring at Usain as I left. I couldn’t believe it was him.
“He’s such a massive star and it’s weird bumping into him like that. But while I was looking at him I couldn’t make eye contact. I kept telling myself, ‘I shouldn’t be here, I really shouldn’t be here.’”
Her time of 9:38.45 saw Eilish beat the Olympic A standard for the steeplechase and is she is now bang on course to make it into Team GB for London 2012.
She said: “If I make the Olympics, I’m going to enjoy the experience.
“I would probably not get a medal but I can make the final and I think my mum will be very proud.
“It’s amazing to think I’m following in her footsteps and it really hit home in Oslo.
“I got my photo taken next to the marathon legend Grete Waitz’s statue at the Bislett Stadion and sent it back to my mum.
“The photo brought the memories flooding back for her. Grete had been my mum’s coach and was inspirational. Even when she had been diagnosed with cancer she was still running.”
Her oldest child was nursing a shattered foot only ten months ago, but returned in style this week to run the 3,000m steeplechase within the Olympic qualifying time
'I'm so proud': Liz McColgan hails daughter Eilish's return from injury
Pride: Liz McColgan says there is more to come from daughter Eilish following her successful 3,000m run in Oslo
Liz McColgan last night spoke of her pride at seeing daughter Eilish go from injury hell to Olympic heaven.
The former World 10,000m champion’s oldest child capped an astonishing career comeback in Oslo by running inside the Olympic qualifying time for the 3,000m steeplechase.
She did so less than 10 months after lying inconsolable in bed, nursing a shattered foot and a fistful of broken dreams.
“Olympic A (standard), UK under-23 record, Scottish record and a new PB! Yaaay!” Eilish tweeted following her 9:38.45 run on Thursday. “Definitely a lot more to come.”
Her joyful mood was shared by mum who declared: “I’m so proud, both as a coach and a mother. I can’t quite get my head round what Eilish has achieved after all she’s been through.”
Rewind to last August when McColgan Jnr ran the race of her life at Crystal Palace to qualify for the World Championships, but in so doing was seriously injured.
“Never have I been so depressed and down in my entire life,” she admitted in the tearful aftermath. “One minute I was so excited to be in the best physical shape ever, the next split second it’s all over.”
Significant damage had been done when McColgan landed awkwardly in the water, two laps from the finish. She didn’t stop of course. That’s not in her family DNA. “As soon as my foot hit the ground I heard a massive ‘pop’ and a massive pain shot up my leg,” she recalled.
“Through adrenaline I got to the next barrier but every step my foot was absolutely killing me and I was crying whilst running.
“At the finish all the first aiders and physios were telling me it couldn’t be broken as I wouldn’t have been able to keep running on it. How wrong they were.”
She had broken her navicular bone and was told that not only must she spend three months off her feet to allow it to heal, she would have to learn to jump off her other foot.
A fortnight ago, six months shy of her 22nd birthday, she finally made her return to the steeplechase. Predictably she was off her Palace pace.
But on Thursday night it was a different story. The girl born only months before her mum was crowned world champion in Tokyo, ran six seconds inside her lifetime best. “To do the Olympic qualifying time and a massive PB in only her second race of the season is reward for all her hard work,” said Liz.
She still needs a top-two finish at the Olympic Trials but only Barbara Parker has a better time for the event.
Athletics: McColgan hits London qualifying mark for six in sparkling Diamond run
Henry McCall
Eilish McColgan took an astonishing six seconds off her own Scottish 3000 metres steeplechase record at last night's Diamond League meeting in Oslo to secure the qualifying mark for the forthcoming Olympic Games.
The 21-year-old from Dundee took advantage of a high-quality field to run 9min. 38.45sec. and achieve UK Athletics A standard for London, finishing ninth behind Kenya's Milcah Chemos.
It moved McColgan into fourth place in the all-time UK rankings and eased the pressure ahead of this month's trials in Birmingham where a top-two finish will now guarantee her an Olympic spot.
Scots athlete Eilish McColgan secures Olympic qualifying mark by chopping six seconds of 3000m record
EILISH McCOLGAN sliced six seconds off her own Scottish 3000 metres steeplechase record in Oslo last night to secure the qualifying mark for the Olympic Games.
The 21-year-old took advantage of a high-quality field at the Diamond League meeting to run 9minutes 38.45seconds and achieve the UK Athletics A standard for London.
The Dundee athlete finished ninth behind race winner Milcah Chemos with the Kenyan recording a time of 9:07.15 – the fourth-fastest in history
McColgan’s run moved her into fourth place in the all-time UK rankings and eased the pressure on her ahead of this month’s trials in Birmingham where a top-two finish will now guarantee her an Olympic spot
McColgan’s Olympics hopes get a big boost
By FRASER CLYNE
Published: 28/05/2012
Eilish McColgan (Dundee Hawkhill Harriers) set a European championship qualifying time in her first 3,000 metres steeplechase outing for more than nine months in the Flanders Cup meeting in Belgium, while Jamie Bowie (Inverness Harriers) clocked a season's best in the 400m.
Eilish and Macb: Better Together
Eilishspeaks exclusively to macb about what the sponsorship means for her and why she only ever drinks water (even before the deal with macb came along!)
SCOTTISH preserve manufacturer Mackays is going for gold in a sponsorship package with a young athlete. Eilish McColgan, daughter of former 10,000m world champion Liz McColgan, is being supported by the brand in her dream of representing Great Britain at London 2012. Eilish plans to run at the UK Athletics Olympic Trials on June 22.
Martin Grant, managing director of Mackays said: “Eilish is a fantastic local talent and we were more than happy to get behind her in the build up to London 2012.
“We are excited to be working with an athlete who has a great future ahead of her and we wish her every success for her Olympic qualifying race.”
Mackays makes a range of nine marmalades, nine preserves and two curds. Products are made using steam-heated, copper-bottomed pans.
Eilish McColgan Gets MacB Sponsorship Deal For Commonwealth Games
ATHLETE Eilish McColgan’s dreams of competing in Glasgow 2014 look closer to a happy ending after she signed a deal with spring water firm macb.
Eilish, whose mum is sporting hero Liz McColgan, was at Scotstoun Stadium on Monday to announce news of her sponsorship agreement.
The talented steeplechase runner has signed a five-figure, three-year deal. And she says it will help her make a real splash in competition.
It’s a big boost for Eilish, 21, who broke her foot eight months ago. She said: “This is obviously a big year for me and there have been some huge hurdles to jump over, no pun intended.
“I was forced to take things slowly but now I’m in great shape.”
Generation games: Athletes following parents' footsteps
Nature or nurture? Steve Redgrave is helping mentor a number of young athletes seeking to qualify for the London Olympics.
Among them are Lynsey Sharp and Eilish McColgan, two 21-year-old runners competing at the test event this weekend. But these two have an extra advantage in that if they want some advice on competing in a Games, albeit not winning five gold medals, they need never leave home. McColgan is the daughter of Liz, former world 10,000m champion and silver medallist at the '88 Games. Sharp's father, Cameron, was a sprinter at the '80 Olympics.
"My mum still speaks as if silver was a disappointment," says McColgan.
"Mv dad says to me there is nothing like an Olympics," adds Sharp. "No matter what you do, when you walk out you will be like, 'Oh my God'."
Eilish McColgan at Mackays on Monday. The company are sponsoring her training kit.
Published on Tuesday 20 March 2012 08:59
CARNOUSTIE athlete Eilish McColgan is hoping to head to this year’s Olympics with a little help from Scottish preserve manufacturer Mackays.
The Arbroath-based company has agreed a sponsorship package with the 21-year-old to assist her in pursuing her dream of representing Great Britain at the Olympics in London later this year.
Eilish, daughter of former 10,000m world champion Liz McColgan, plans to run at the UK Athletics Olympic Trials which take place on June 22.
Martin Grant, managing director of Mackays, commented: “Eilish is a fantastic local talent and we were more than happy to get behind her in the build up to London 2012. We are excited to be working with an athlete who has a great future ahead of her and we wish her every success for her Olympic qualifying race.”
Eilish will be working closely with Mackays over the coming year and has even offered to help out at local events and tastings in the future when not training or competing.
She commented: “It is fantastic to receive support from a great local business and I look forward to working with Martin and his team over the next year.”
As Mother’s Day approaches (Sunday 18th March for those of you who have forgotten), we caught up with Scottish 3000m steeplechaser record holder, Eilish McColgan, daughter of former World 10,000m Champion Liz McColgan, to find out what it was like growing up with one of GB’s greatest distance runners.
Eilish, who is currently returning from injury after breaking her foot last year, is hoping to make history in London this summer by becoming the first Scottish daughter of an Olympic athlete to perform at the Games.
Did your Mum inspire you to get into athletics?
“My mum has been my coach since I first decided to take up athletics seriously. After being selected for my county sports, I asked if I could join the local running club.
“My mum decided that she would like me to join her old athletics club, Dundee Hawkhill Harriers - and I haven’t looked back since!”
What’s it like having a World Champion Mum?
“Having a world champion as a mother and coach is definitely a huge advantage. She can give, not only me, but all of our training group, an insight into what it takes to make it, as she’s been there and done it.
"She also understands how an athlete feels as she was an athlete herself and has gone through all the ups and downs just like everyone else. So it's always reassuring having her opinions.”
What will you be doing this Mother’s Day?
“This mother's day I’ll actually be spending it with my boyfriend’s family! Next week I am out of the country for 6 weeks and I won't see them for a long time. My mum is coming out with me for 2 weeks.
“I’m sure my mum will be spoiled by my other 4 younger siblings, aged 12,10,9 and 6, with home-made cards and gifts.”
Back the team this summer and watch Eilish McColgan in action at the Aviva 2012 Trials at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium from 22nd – 24th June 2012.
For tickets and further information visit www.uka.org.uk/aviva-series or call 08000 55 60 56. An early bird discount of 10% is available until 31st March 2012. #backtheteam
Also, did you know...
Janet Simpson made the history books in 1964 when she won bronze at the Olympics in Tokyo as part of the 4 x 100m relay team. Simpson followed in the footsteps of her mother Violet Webb (1915-99) who also won Olympic bronze in the 4 x 100m relay in St Louis in 1932. Simpson and Webb remain the only British mother and daughter have won athletics medals at the Olympic Games.
"As we lead up to the beginning of the Olympics we were fortunate enough to have a visit from Eilish McColgan.
Eilish gave up valuable time to inspire and motivate our pupils. She talked about the importance of the Olympic Values of respect, dedication, friendship, courage and selflessness to name a few and how important these values are to have for anything you do in life. She encouraged the children to be involved in lots of different sports, have a healthy life style and be committed to their school work.
She emphasised the importance to the children of setting personal goals and working hard to achieve these.
The children asked interesting questions and were delighted when Eilish presented certificates at Dens Road's School Praise Assembly.
One child in primary 2 said it was the best assembly she has ever been at.
We would like to say a great big thank you to Eilish from all of us at Dens Road P.S. and we wish her every success on reaching the London 2012 Olympics."
Liz McColgan believes greater equality in sport has led to half-a-dozen women becoming the best-known names in athletics in Scotland.
While a Scotsman featuring in the Great Britain lineup at London 2012looks an outside bet, there are currently realistic hopes for the likes of Lee McConnell, Eilidh Child, Eilish McColgan, Lynsey Sharp and Steph Twell.
It has led BBC Scotland to look at the ‘Girl Power’ issue in their Sport Nation programme to be screened on Tuesday evening with scottishathletics chief executive Nigel Holl feeling sure our leading women can act as an inspiration for talented young men. Track legend Liz argues there is a simple explanation.
‘There is equality in the sport now and that is a major difference,’ said Olympic silver medallist McColgan.
‘When myself and Yvonne Murray were running 20 years ago it was not like that. When I started out, women were not allowed to run more than 3000 metres. Now everyone is doing 10ks and marathons. And that has happened in a period of around 20 years.
‘So I really do feel that what has changed is the equality of the sport itself which has made it more accessible for women and given them a platform to be successful.’
McColgan, McConnell and Sharp were interviewed for the Sport Nation programme while Holl told BBC Scotland he expects a number of promising male athletes to fulfil their potential soon – including the likes of Chris O’Hare, Guy Learmonth, Tom Holligan, Jax Thoirs, Gregor MacLean, Dave Smith, Allan Smith, Mark Dry – in various disciplines.
'Some of our biggest names are female at the moment,' said Holl. 'They deserve credit for that. they are right up there in Scottish rankings and British rankings and hopefully at some point the world rankings.
‘The likes of Eilish and Lynsey are young athletes. There is a lot of scope for them to develop. But it is not exactly bad news on the male front. If you look at our throwers then Andy Frost, Chris Bennett and Mark Dry are rated in the top five in the Commonwealth last summer.
‘Role models are important. If Liz McColgan wasn’t a positive role model for Eilish then I’d be worried … And Lynsey has them within her family – through her mum, her dad and her sister.
‘I think Kelly Holmes and Sally Gunnell have probably been role models for these young women as much as anyone because it is a bit nearer to their time. But the likes of Usain Bolt and Mo Farah will be an inspiration to young athletes around the world at the moment and I don’t think Scotland is any different to that.
‘I am not sure it would be fair to say the men can learn from the women any more than they can learn from other elite athletes. They probably know what is required, anyway. The ‘Girl Power’ names definitely have the talent, the application and the attitude required but I genuinely believe we’ve a few more who have those qualities as well.
‘It is not a sport where men and women compete against each other. Maybe at primary school or in a fun run later on but that is about it. I think in early-teens the two sexes become focused on their own events – there’s no real head-to-head competition. The community of athletics in Scotland is supportive of our top women – and the men.
‘I suspect Scotland has always had a good number of ‘Junior Talent’ coming through – and I happen to think we’re even better off in that department than we have been for some time. The real challenge is converting that into quality senior athletes. Not every single one will make it. That’s not possible but it is the job ofscottishathletics, clubs, individual coaches and the sportscotland Institute of Sport to increase the ‘conversion rate’.
‘The likes of Lee McConnell and Eilidh Child have come through over the past few years but we want to see a few more.’
The Sport Nation programme also has a feature on Thom Evans following his sprinting debut at the Scottish National Indoor Championships in February when he finished fourth in the 60 metres finals.
*Sport Nation is on BBC Two Scotland on Tuesday 6th March at 7pm.
BMW - John Clark Official Handover - 2012
The Courier Article 25/1/12 and 1/2/12
Scottish Athletics Website 8/2/12
EILISH PREPARES FOR PEAK PRACTICE
8th February 2012
Eilish McColgan is stepping up her mileage on her return from injury – and is hoping a first bout at altitude training in the Pyranees will fully prepare her for the Olympic trials on June 22.
The Scottish steeplechaser is currently at Bisham Abbey for the second time with UK Athletics undergoing the final part of her rehabilitation following a broken foot.
Liz’s daughter is now running around 50 miles a week and her comeback will intensify further in April when she heads first to Portugal with her Scottish training partners and then to Font Romeu in the Pyranees with the UK Endurance group.
‘I am running about 50 miles a week at the moment and my maximum is about 65-70 miles,’ said Eilish.
‘I am not too far away. All I am missing now is a few steady runs and that does not concern me too much. Bisham is purely to get intensive physiotherapy again and to monitor the next step back to full weekly mileage.
‘On another note, I have booked my annual warm weather training trip to Villamoura in Portugal with my training group. I will head out a week earlier than anyone else in order to catch-up on the time I missed previously.
‘I then hope to head straight from a fortnight there to a further three weeks at Font Romeu with the UKA Endurance camp. This would be my first ever time at altitude which is why I am only going for three weeks and then coming back for a full month of racing before the Olympic trials on June 22.A full 20 weeks away – not that I am counting!’
Scottish Athletics Website 7/2/12
VAN COMMENEE BACKS SCOTS HOPES FOR LONDON
7th February 2012
Great Britain head coach Charles van Commenee has backed Scotland’s Eilidh Child to make an impact at the London Olympics.
The Commonwealth Games silver medallist is back in Britain after warm weather training in South Africa during January.
Van Commenee watched Child in action with Malcolm at their hurdling base and felt the Commonwealth Games silver medallist was in good form.
Child reached the World Championship semi-final last year but didn’t set a hurdles personal best in 2011 and has been challenged to improve on that to stake her claim for London.
‘Eilidh Child has been in South Africa and for certain she has a good chance (of making the Olympics),’ van Commenee told the scottishathletics website.
‘I was out there when she was working with Malcolm Arnold and she looked good.
‘Eilidh did some excellent times in the training in South Africa and I felt she was in very good shape - but of course it is about what happens now.’
Lee McConnell is another serious Scottish contender for London with the 400 metre runner and relay specialist aiming to make it a hat-trick of Olympic appearances.
McConnell, training in Glasgow at the moment, went to Barcelona and then Beijing and has her sights on both the individual 400 metres and the relay this summer.
And van Commenee has offered Steph Twell and Eilish McColgan plenty of encouragement, too.
Twell is about to fly home to Britain from the UK Athletics altitude camp in Kenya while McColgan is back at Bisham Abbey this week following her return to track work after a broken foot wrecked her World Championship dream last August.
‘Steph has been working very hard in Africa,’ van Commenee.
‘She is running fine at altitude in Kenya so she is back to full fitness. We just hope she can reach the same standards she was at before.
‘Eilish has been to Bisham Abbey for rehab work early in January and then went back into track training. She has returned to Bisham now for more checks.
‘Medically she is almost 100 percent again now so it is about how much training she can do and how much fitter she becomes.
‘She just has to build it up now on a weekly basis. It can take a bit of time but I think she still has time. Both Steph and Eilish are very capable of making the Olympic team.’
Daily Mail Article 26/1/12
Ambition runs in the family as Liz 's girl goes for gold
Most children could only dream of being coached by an Olympic medallist at their first school sports day.
But when Eilish McColgan was cheered on by her world champion mother in the school grounds she knew that one day she wanted to stand on the podium, too.
Now, nearly 15 years after her first race, the daughter of Scots athlete Liz McColgan is readying herself to represent Britain at the 2012 Olympics.
Eilish, who is now one of the best young runners in Britain, has also set her sights on a medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.
But despite her parents’ globetrotting careers – her father Peter was also a renowned steeplechaser – Eilish admits that she did not understand their jobs when she was young.
She said: ‘My first race that I remember was when I was in primary 6 or 7.
‘My PE teacher just entered me in a race so I went along with it and came fourth.
‘But I absolutely loved it. Before that I knew that my parents were runners but I never really understood what that meant.’
Soon afterwards, Eilish joined a local athletics club before teaming up with her mother – who has coached her since.
And the runner has gone from strength to strength.
She holds the Scottish record forthe 3000-metre steeplechase, as well as the UK under-23 record for the same distance.
But the 21-year-old suffered a huge setback last year when she fractured her ankle at a crucial stage in the running season – although she managed to record her fastest-ever time during the same race.
She said: ‘It was ridiculous getting the qualifying time in the same race that I broke my foot. That was an Olympic qualifying time.’
But despite missing out on appearing for Great Britain at the World Championships – 20 years after her mother won gold in Tokyo – Eilish is back fighting fit.
Champ in the making: Eilish gets a few words of encouragement from her mother as she competes in her first school sport's day
She said: ‘At the start of 2011 I would have laughed at the thought of getting to the Olympics.
But last season was like a snowball – every week just got better and better.’
She is taking a year out from her accountancy and maths degree at Dundee University to train.
The Herald Article 17/1/12..
McColgan delighted to be back in old routine
Mark Woods
As she has done hundreds, if not thousands, of times before, Eilish McColgan will kneel on the side of the track this morning at Dundee's Caird Park and lace up her spikes in preparation for a session of graft and toil.
This time, however, she will offer up a silent prayer of thanks, grateful to be allowed once more to perform the simple routines that mark out an athlete's daily regime.
It is nearly six months since the young Scottish steeplechaser lowered her personal best in a Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace. Any sense of heady accomplishment was drowned out by the searing pain in her foot. Bones were broken. Her spirit, at least temporarily, followed suit. Due to be named, just 24 hours later, in the Great Britain team for the world championships in Daegu, being told that she required surgery followed by a long period of rehabilitation was a harsh blow.
"I just really struggled for the two weeks after that," says the 21-year-old. "I was so upset. I was meant to go to the World University Games in China as well and I'd had all my inoculations. I was meant to do the New York Fifth Avenue Mile at the end of the September as well. All these plans were sorted out. I was looking forward to those and the world championships as well, but it all got taken away."
Having spent last week under the watchful supervision of UK Athletics medical staff at Bisham Abbey, McColgan has been cleared, finally, to resume training. There will be elation, she declares, but also relief. The healing process has proven quicker than expected, accelerating her ambitions to return faster and stronger for a season which she hopes will incorporate a trip to the Olympic Games.
Hitherto forbidden to do what comes naturally, the Dundee University student has instead been confined to the gym, taking out her frustrations on the machines within. Asked to adapt her regime, she admits to a new self-discipline. "My lifestyle's in a better place now than it was 12 months ago," she confesses. "Things are really different. Because of the rehab programme, I've been forced to focus on other aspects of being an athlete. So now the actual running is just the final component."
It will go firstly step by step, then jump by jump. Her father Peter, once an international athlete himself, has been offering words of advice. "Dad was quite upset when it first happened," she confirms. "Steeplechase was his event and he felt it was partly his fault for some strange reason."
Parental irrationalities aside, the worst aspect of her confinement, she says, was losing her independence. Trips to the shower required a chaperone. Going to the shop became a major expedition. It was a living, waking nightmare. "And I really struggled with that. So I'm a hell of lot happier now, being able to do what I want when I want and going for runs. I've just got a lot more time because the rehab took so long every day. Now I can fit everything in."
She has six months to prove herself once more. The prospect of a debut Olympic appearance, at least, provides the greatest possible incentive to push through the aches and strains. Her advisors have no qualms, McColgan states, over her readiness for what lies ahead. "Obviously I won't be doing my normal amount of training to start with," she proclaims. "But it's a big step forward."
Caird Park, she adds, will witness an athlete renewed. "I've realised how much you do miss it when you can't run for five months. It's so much more enjoyable. I can't wait to get up to the track and get out there beside everyone."
Daily Record 17/1/12
Eilish McColgan: I'll make up for lost time in 2012
EILISH McCOLGAN fought back the tears when she watched last year's world athletics championships with her broken foot in plaster.
But the 21-year-old says she'll be jumping for joy today when she gets back on the track for the first time since sustaining her nightmare injury last August.
It's been a long road back for the steeplechase prospect who was crocked during the Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace - 24 hours before she was due to be named in the GB team for Daegu.
She said: "I was so upset. I was meant to go to the World University Games in China and do the New York Fifth Avenue Mile too.
"Even watching the Worlds was hard but now I can't wait to get up to the track and get out there beside everyone."
Twell assures McColgan of recovery before games
Published on Thursday 12 January 2012 01:53 :
The Scotsman
STEPH Twell has assured Eilish McColgan that she is in the best possible hands as she bids to recover from a broken foot in time to compete for Great Britain at the Olympic Games.
McColgan is continuing her rehabilitation at Bisham Abbey while her fellow Scot Twell and other distance athletes are taking part in altitude training in Kenya. For Twell, who worked with the staff there as she recovered from a broken ankle last year, there could be no better place to work on a return to competitiveness.
“I worked at Bisham Abbey with the physio Ashley Wallace and she is brilliant at her job,” the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist said. “She uses more than just conventional methods. She goes above and beyond that with a full holistic approach. I am convinced they will help Eilish get back on track.
“You are in an old abbey right on the River Thames and it just seems to be very therapeutic. Your mind becomes convinced you will get back from injury.
“There is not a single negative vibe inside that building. They give you a nine-to-five programme every day and the sole focus is the rehabilitation.
“Everything is spelled out for you and there’s no chance of being side-tracked. I went for two fortnight stints and I fell in love with the place.’
Twell is in Kenya with support from UK Athletics, alongside Freya Murray, Beth Potter and Derek Hawkins, who have been funded by Scottish Athletics. “Being away for a month like this really helps you focus,” she added. “You are rubbing shoulders with the likes of Paula Radcliffe and Helen Clitheroe who are massive inspirations.
“For the likes of Derek and Beth who have maybe not been to Africa before then there will be a settling-in period. You have to think about the heat, the altitude, the terrain and so on and so forth.”
Although the Kenya camp is a Team GB venture, Twell is also welcoming it as a chance to get to know her fellow Scots better. “It is a great opportunity, and brilliant that Scottish Athletics are funding their trips,” she said. “That shows we have more athletes who can compete at a high level.
“Freya and I were in Delhi together [at the 2010 Commonwealth Games] and have been in major teams together, so now we will get to know each other better. Derek was in Slovenia with GB [at the European Cross-Country Championships] and this is another chance for him to push himself. We had a chat out there.
“It is great we will be getting to know each other a bit better. The Scotland team doesn’t really gather as such between each Commonwealth Games, but I reckon we will train well together.”
Scottish Sunday Express Article 1/1/12
MCCOLGAN TO COMPLETE REHAB IN ENGLAND
20th December 2011
Eilish McColgan will head south of the border early in the new year to continue her rehabilitation from injury as she targets a place at London 2012.
The young Scottish steeplechaser and endurance runner made a big impression last season before breaking her foot in the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace in early August.
McColgan was bound for the World Championships in Daegu before her unlucky break – on a day when she still managed to set a PB and Scottish record of 9.44.8 for the 3000 metre steeplechase despite the accident happening 500 metres from the finishing line.
UK Athletics have now decided against taking Eilish to Kenya in January for a training camp with other Great Britain athletes.
But, as Olympic year opens, she will instead attend a rehab clinic in London for specialised training. That will be followed with a fortnight at Loughbrough before another visit to London.
All the programmes are geared to full fitness at the start of the season and there are encouraging signs with the 21-year-old back running again.
‘Eilish won’t travel to Kenya with the UK Athletics squad but will be in London instead for specialised training as she works on her rehab,’ said her coach, Liz McColgan.
‘She has been back running over the past couple of weeks and has made a lot of progress. Everything she is now doing is with next summer in mind.’
McColgan, named last week in the scottishathletics Commonwealth Games squad and on the UKA development programme, has been attending the LifeFit Physio centre in Grangemouth where she has been working with David Bowmaker.
As Eilish works hard to recover full fitness, Nicola Gauld made a successful comeback after 17 months out with injuries to win the Aberdeen Parkrun 5Km on Saturday in a women's course record.
The Aberdeen AAC member, who was Scottish 1500m champion in 2006 and 2007, recorded 17.50 to knock 55 seconds off the previous best set by Fiona Rudkin in November.
Nicola missed the whole of the 2009 season because of injuries but returned to action in 2010 in an unsuccessful bid to gain selection for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
‘The Parkrun was a good low-key race for me to do as I've only been doing some steady running in training and I haven't done any speedwork,’ said Gauld.
‘At the moment I have no plans to do any track training. I'm just taking things gradually and I haven't set myself any goals or targets at this stage. I was reasonably pleased with my run. It's the first time I've done a 5k.’
Track legend Liz McColgan's daughter aims to follow in mother's footsteps with OIympic glory
LIZ McCOLGAN'S dream of Olympic glory for her daughter is back on track.
The Scottish track legend was devastated in August when 20-year-old Eilish suffered a broken foot, leaving her hopes of a place in the Olympics next year hanging by a thread.
But on Tuesday night Eilish, who excels in the 3000m steeplechase, was given the all-clear by her surgeon to start walking on the foot again.
She will now undergo intensive rehabilitation and should be back in full training after Christmas, ahead of the Games, which get started in nine months.
Liz said: "I'm pleased. It's been a hard couple of months for her and now she can see light at the end of the tunnel.
"I think she's still got time and I'm confident she will make the trials in July next year for the Olympic squad.
"She's had a great attitude and, although she's been on crutches and wearing a protective boot, she's been keeping her training up in the pool and with cycling."
It's been a nerve-shredding few months for mother and daughter after Eilish suffered a broken foot at the Diamond League event in London.
The youngster set a new Scottish steeplechase record in the race but ran the last 550 metres after a fall, which resulted in surgery and having a plate put in her foot.
It's not the first time injury has scuppered Eilish's dreams.
She was selected to compete in the Commonwealth Youth Games in India in 2008 but suffered a major knee injury that took her a year-and-a-half to recover from.
If Eilish can battle back and get to London 2012, she would become the first Scottish daughter of an Olympic athlete to perform at the Games.
It wouldn't be the first time in Olympic history that a mother and daughter have both competed.
Russian Irina Nazarova won a relay gold medal in 1980, following in the footsteps of her mother, Elizabeth Bagrinaseva, who took gold in the discus in 1952.
While Liz scooped silver, she is hoping her daughter will go one better and bag a gold - but maybe not next year.
She said: "I don't think she's there yet for a medal but she could set a new British record.
"She's got it in her and was only a second off it running with a broken foot.
"My hope is she'd be in a good position to win gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and then be ready for chasing a medal at the Olympics in 2016."
It would be an amazing case of deja vu for Liz.
She won her first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986 as a 22-year-old in the 10,000m.
She became a national treasure - not just because it was the only track and field win for Scotland, but due to the fact that she celebrated draped in a saltire.
She went on to bag silver in the 10,000m at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988, and won a second Commonwealth gold in 1990 for the 10,000m, as well as bronze after competing in the 3000m.
She then became World Champion in 1991 and would go on to take three gold medals in the marathons of New York, Tokyo and London. Having retired in 2001, Liz now coaches some of Scotland's most promising youngsters.
The oldest of Liz's five children, Eilish has now been nominated for the Under-23 athlete of the year at the Scottish Athletics Sports Awards on October 29. Liz is up for coach of the year.
Once Eilish is back running, Liz hopes she'll go to Kenya in January for an altitude camp.
They will also decide whether the youngster will compete in the 3000m steeplechase or the 5k trials for next year's Olympics.
But for now they are focusing on Eilish walking again. And Liz will be right by her side.
Eilish, a sports scholar at Dundee University, showed early promise when she won the 2004 British cross-country championships in her age group, and was ranked top in Scotland over 800m and 1500m.
While Liz's other children are still too young to compete, like most parents, Liz knows how hard it is to get kids off the computer and out of the house.
She said: "I've got four and they play the games. You've got to find the balance.
"I have no problem with it as long as they are outside as well.
"I wouldn't want them on 24/7 but I think for all kids, especially during the summer months, it's good to get outside and get social skills by playing with your mates.
"It used to be that you would walk your kids to and from school, or take them on the bike, but now they are taken by car.
"There's a lot of inactivity because our lifestyles have changed. I know it's difficult if you've been working all day.
"It's easy to pop the telly on, let them play the games, so you can chill out.
"You have to make an effort and get on a bike or take them to the park at the weekend."
Like many involved in sport, Liz is overjoyed that Britain has the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games 2014, showcasing talent and creating stadiums and pools in London and Glasgow.
Liz, from Panbride, near Carnoustie in Angus, trains her youngsters in Dundee and says more cash needs to be pumped into Scotland's facilities.
She said: "It's ridiculous what we train on.
"But the Ethiopians and the Kenyans have nothing and they are able to cope with it, so we've got better than some people.
"It's certainly better than when I was younger. It's not perfect or ideal, and our track is not in good repair, but you make the best of what you've got.
"You don't moan, you just get on with it."
Liz now runs a property and leisure business but will take time out for the Olympics.
She said: "I'm hoping to be at the Olympics in a coaching capacity. But the BBC haven't approached me to be a pundit.
"An event like that lifts the atmosphere in the country, even in Scotland, and doom and gloom goes by the wayside."
Next week, the former Sports Personality of the Year is a panellists for the Question of Sport tour.
The show is at Glasgow Clyde Auditorium on October 22, with host Sue Barker and team captains Phil Tufnell and Matt Dawson joined by Dennis Taylor among others.
Liz joins the panel for the Edinburgh Usher Hall leg on October 23 with Dennis and Dominic Cork.
She said: "It's much better fun than the television shows. There's lots of banter with the audience."
be in a good is she'd at the hope gold 'My to win position Games' Commonwealth
Anxious wait for Eilish McColgan after injury
Published on Sunday 7 August 2011 14:43
Eilish McColgan will hear in the next 24 hours whether she has been included in the British team for this month's world championships in the Korean city of Daegu.
However, the 20-year-old might have to decline the invite if her worst fears are realised when she undergoes scans on an ankle injury sustained during the latter stages of her 3,000 metres steeplechase race at the Aviva Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Prostrate and in agony on the track at the finish, the fact that the initial prognosis was a fracture added even more lustre to the 20-year-old Dundonian's performance. Her time of 9 minutes and 44.8 seconds lowered her existing Scottish and UK under-23 records. It could, and surely would, have been much lower if her ankle had not given out on the final water jump, forcing her to battle through the pain to cross the line.
"I had an entire lap where my ankle was sore and that's why it looked like I was dying at the finish," revealed McColgan. "I definitely would have run under 9:40 but my ankle was buckling on every jump I did. I'm just so disappointed because I think I would have had the A standard."
It should still suffice, health permitting. However, Lee McConnell likely removed any doubts over her presence in the individual 400 metres in Daegu by delivering her quickest time for nine years to claim top spot in the UK rankings. In a race won by Sanya Richards-Ross, the Scot took fifth place in 51.01 seconds and will surely now get the nod, even if the UK Athletics selectors opt to gamble on the inclusion of Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu whose poor form was highlighted as she trailed in last.
Meanwhile, American Walter Dix said Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt could "definitely be beaten" in South Korea after easing to victory in the 200 metres.
Dix was among a number of US athletes to record impressive wins on the second day of the meeting, with fellow sprinter Carmelita Jeter and Richards-Ross also laying down the gauntlet to their rivals ahead of the worlds in Daegu.
Olympic double bronze medallist Dix clocked 20.16 seconds into a minus headwind and was pleased by his performance. "All I do is win, that's why you can never count me out. I need a couple of medals at the world championships and people will start to look out for me," said Dix, the US champion at 100 and 200.
Bolt may not have been at the meeting, which he also missed last year because of British tax rules on promotional earnings, but he will be the man to beat in Daegu.
Another sprinter to watch at the worlds will be Jeter, who has been in consistent form all season and, aged 31, will be a strong contender for a first global title after bronzes in 2007 and 2009. The second fastest woman of all-time over 100m - only the late Florence Griffith-Joyner has gone quicker - powered down the straight to win in 10.93, ahead of Trinidad & Tobago's Kelly-Ann Baptiste (10.97) and Olympic and world champion Shelley-Ann Fraser Pryce (11.10).Home favourite and world and European triple jump champion Philips Idowu was upstaged by American Christian Taylor, who smashed his personal best by 28 centimetres with a third round leap of 17.68 metres to take victory. The always colourful Idowu, his cropped hair dyed blonde with a blue stripe down the middle and resplendent in white headband and knee-high white socks, was far from his best and had to settle for third with a jump of 17.07.
In other events, Australian Sally Pearson scorched to victory in the women's 100m hurdles, Puerto Rican Javier Culson won the men's 400m hurdles in a season's best 48.33 seconds and Lithuania's Virgilijus Alekna, twice Olympic and world discus champion, secured victory with a throw of 66.71 metres.
Eilish McColgan rubbing shoulders with stars of athletics after record-breaking performance in Birmingham
Carnoustie athlete Eilish McColgan is celebrating after setting a new Scottish record for the 3000m steeplechase.
Her success should come as little surprise as the 20-year-old is the daughter of medal-winning runner Liz McColgan.
She recorded a time of 9mins 47.03 sec at the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham — also a new UK record for an runner aged under 23.
Eilish is a sports scholar at Dundee University and Paul McPate, assistant director of the university's institute of sport and exercise, praised her performance.
"While we have had some outstanding athletes at Dundee University over the years, we have never had anyone deliver such a high-quality performance, setting a new national record in the process.
"Eilish has also set a British Universities and Colleges Championship best in the steeplechase earlier this year, so it is a great season for her."
A field of top steeplechasers took part in the Birmingham race. Eilish was given a wild card entry and finished ninth. Her time meets the qualifying standard for the World Championships.
Eilish said she had "absolutely loved" taking part in the meeting.
The race was not the only thing on her mind, though, as she was also enjoying the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the most famous athletes in the world — and revealed on Twitter howshe had even passed superstar Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell in her hotel's hallway.
The university's sport scholarship programme backs high-performing athletes to achieve their full potential in sporting and academic arenas and improve Dundee's position in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings.
Eilish is one of Scotland's most promising middle distance runners. Two months ago she won the 2000m steeplechase at a BUCS track and field event. She recently finished fourth in the final of the 1500m at the Aviva UK indoor championships.
She still has some way to go to emulate her mother's achievements. Liz won gold at 10,000m in two successive Commonwealth games and at the 1991 World Championships.
European Team Championships: Personal best for debut Scot Eilish McColgan
SCOT Eilish McColgan smashed her personal best yesterday at the European Team Championships but reckons she should have run faster.
Sixteen years after her famous mum, Liz, last competed at the event Eilish proved she too possesses all the skills needed to reach the top in her field.
Making her Great Britain debut after a last-minute call-up, she finished ninth in the 3000 metres steeplechase in only her third outing at the distance.
The 20-year-old Dundee-based prospect, who ran 9:55.13 in a top-class field, said: "I'm quite pleased. I've never run at this level before and certainly not at the same level as those guys. But I've got years ahead of me.
"I'm pleased it's a personal best even if I was hoping for closer to 9:50. It's only my third steeplechase race ever. It's a stepping stone."
Team GB are sitting in fourth place, 56 points behind Russia, going into the final day of action in Sweden. Skipper and European champion Dai Greene led by example when he won the 400m hurdles in 49.21secs but blamed himself for not going quicker.
He said: "I know I can run faster. This is my third competition so I need some more to be in perfect shape."
Christian Lemaitre smashed his 100m PB to crush Dwain Chambers as the Frenchman ran 9.95secs to push his Brit rival into second.
But even the Euro No.1 couldn't stop GB's sprinters winning the 100m relay to end the day on a high.
Christian Malcolm, Craig Pickering, James Ellington and Harry Akines Aryeetey produced a clean lap to hold off Lemaitre and the French squad.
Elsewhere Scottish champion James Campbell was a disappointing ninth in the javelin on his GB debut.
IN THE WINNING ZONE
Introducing Eilish McColgan, daughter of a famous Mum, but soon to be stamping her own authority on the world of athletics...
As the daughter of a famous Mum, Eilish McColgan has faced a mixed bag of negatives and positives in her first few years as a Scottish athlete. But, certainly at the moment, the outlook could hardly be any brighter for Liz’s 17-year-old daughter.
This month, Eilish will compete for Scotland in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune in India. A 1,500m specialist, she is not sure where she stands in the rankings. But she is determined to do Scotland proud.
“I’m really looking forward to India, it will be a huge experience,” said the youngster. “It will be my last race of the season and I don’t know who I will be up against. But I’m sure it will be a great trip.”
While Liz made her name as a long distance runner – winning the 10,000m at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo – Eilish is concentrating on the middle distances.
She was second in the 1,500m at the Scottish Championships this year - and she also won the steeplechase title, an event that is relatively new in the women’s arena.
While not necessarily a deliberate choice, Eilish, whose father, Peter, ran for Ireland, is relieved that the choice of a different event has helped ease the pressure of carrying the McColgan name.
“When I first became interested in athletics, everybody expected me to be really good, and I didn’t really understand why,” she reflected. “But now it’s much better and I don’t feel any extra pressure in trying to follow in Mum’s footsteps.”
In fact, it is her mother – who is also her coach at Dundee Hawkhill Harriers – who helps Eilish to be regarded as just another of Scotland’s promising young athletes.
“My Mum is my coach, but there is a large group of about 25 so I’m just treated the same as everyone else,” continued Eilish.
Having just started her first year as a maths and accountancy student at Dundee University, Eilish is going to face a heavy workload on and off the track. But the level-headed teenager is determined to make steady progress towards fulfilling her running dreams.
“I have looked into the idea of maybe going to America, but I think I’m too young and I really want to finish my degree. You need something to fall back on in case athletics doesn’t work out,” she pointed out.
“It’s not time yet to go full-time and I really enjoy living in Scotland, and training with my Mum’s group.
Eilish’s target next year will be to lower her 1,500m personal best time from the current 4:27 to somewhere nearer 4:20. She also hopes to develop her steeplechase skills.
“I actually hardly ever practise the steeplechase, but I enjoy doing it for fun and might do more in the future,” she said.
She modestly suggests that the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 Olympics London might be too soon for her to don an international vest, but the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is a huge target.
Liz won her first major title and came to the public’s attention with her great victory in the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Meadowbank – wouldn’t it be amazing if daughter Eilish mounted the podium in Glasgow some 28 years later...
Why Oslo? Well, that’s why we’re here, in a corner of a changing room in a park in Dundee. The night before the stroll and the picture outside the Bislett Stadium came the running inside it. A Diamond League meeting and a world class field. Some phenomenal operators including Usain Bolt – and Eilish McColgan, 21 years old and only starting out in the game her mother conquered. That night she broke the Scottish record in the 3,000m steeplechase and made the A standard for the Olympic Games. Some say she is a formality now for Team GB but the smidgeon of uncertainty can disappear entirely if she has a top-two finishing spot in the forthcoming trials in Birmingham. Nobody can doubt her at this stage.
But she has to tell a story. Oh. My. God. This is how it was, OK? Last August, she was running at Crystal Palace. She was on schedule for a time that would have qualified her for a place in the world championships20 years after her mum had become world champion in Tokyo. At the second last water jump she came a cropper, her foot landing awkwardly and going pop. “I was right up there with girls who had run about 15 seconds quicker than me. I couldn’t believe the position I was in, so I knew I was running quick. I saw the clock with a lap to go and worked out I was under the world champs time so I kept running on it. The last water jump I landed on that foot again, and I went totally under the water, I was like crawling out. You see it on the TV. I just disappeared for about ten seconds! We didn’t know I had broken my foot until the end, when I literally couldn’t move. I had completely snapped the bone and because I had kept running I had displaced it, so the bones all around it were all damaged as well. I had to go for surgery so now I have five screws and a little metal plate just on the bone. Forever.”
It’s been a hell of a comeback. But there is another accident to report. In training this time, just a few days before the Norway trip when she was supposed to be wrapping herself in cotton wool. She sensed it coming. The more careful she was the more certain she became that something weird was going to happen. “I ended up clattering into a hurdle. Instantly I thought I had broken my kneecap. I was hysterical, just rolling around on the floor. It just wouldn’t stop bleeding as well. But straight away my mum said, ‘Calm down, we’ll get some ice’.”
Ah, mum. She comes in the room and talks about her girl, how she’s a different shape, different height, different upbringing, different everything, bar one thing. In terms of their love of competition, they are the same. In Liz’s vast medal collection there is a silver from the world indoor championships, a piece of metal that is distinguishable from the others by a dent in the corner, the product of the baby Eilish in her teething phase – “and then she let it drop. If anybody ever tries to pawn it, you’ll know it’s mine.
“Eilish has always had it,” says her mother, talking about her determination and mental strength. “She’s come from a different background than me. She’s had a lot of home comforts that I didn’t get, but there’s always been something in Eilish that she’s always wanted to run. I never started her running, she started herself running. So many parents push their kids and the kids end up not enjoying it. I never used to take the kids to the track, I never took them to the races with me, it was all very separate. She’s always wanted to do it. It’s just in her. Although she’s a very nice girl, when it comes to running she has the killer instinct in and she thrives on it.
“We’re different. I was too serious about it. Eilish, although she’s serious she still has a lighter side. She’s not as intense as I was. I was 100 miles an hour all the time, always pushing. When I started running it was all about getting away from things that were troublesome to me. I never thought I would be an Olympian. Very few girls ran back then. There were no role models. It was never something I thought I was capable of doing. I ran to escape the lifestyle I had and the problems I had, to be on my own where nobody could bother me. When I started getting good I started getting a little bullying because I was doing something all the other girls weren’t doing, so it was really difficult when I was younger. It just took off after I went to the States and then there was the Commonwealth Games and then everybody was your mate. Everybody wanted to run. Eilish is fortunate that she’s not coming to it from that end. She’s in it because she enjoys doing it and she’s very good at what she’s doing.”
There’s a story they both tell about Liz’s Olympic silver. What Eilish wouldn’t give for one of those. To think that her mother’s precious medal sat in a drawer for 13 years before she felt ready to take it out and show it to people, to think that for all that it represented regret rather than glory to the woman who worked so hard to win it.
“She is still to this day disappointed with the silver medal,” says Eilish. “It wasn’t the fact that I didn’t get the gold,” explains her mother. “It was the fact that I let myself be coerced into doing something in my training I didn’t feel was right for me. I should have stood up and said, ‘No, I don’t want to do this’. But I just rolled with it and rolled with it and ended up getting a silver instead of the gold, but that’s for me to live with and cry about.
“When I got the silver I just put it in the drawer and never looked at it again, never showed it to anybody because I felt that I let quite a few people down and, when I saw Paula Radcliffe sitting at the side of the road in Athens, I just thought to myself, just to get a medal is pretty good, it’s hard to get one and not everyone’s dreams are met, so it brought it home to me that I shouldn’t be quite so disappointed with it. I went and hauled it out and put it with the rest of them and I’m not afraid to show it to people now.”
They’re quite a double act. The upside of having your mum as coach? “She’s done everything I would want to achieve, so I know what she’s saying is right.” And the downside? “Just the general fighting between mother and daughter, I suppose. We are both similar in the fact we are both pretty stubborn. There will be times when we are not speaking and I’ll still go to training.”
The silence never lasts long, though. They have too much talking to do, too much planning. Oslo then, Birmingham now and soon, with fingers crossed, London and the measure of both their dreams.
SCOTTISH preserve manufacturer Mackays is going for gold in a sponsorship package with a young athlete. Eilish McColgan, daughter of former 10,000m world champion Liz McColgan, is being supported by the brand in her dream of representing Great Britain at London 2012. Eilish plans to run at the UK Athletics Olympic Trials on June 22.
Martin Grant, managing director of Mackays said: “Eilish is a fantastic local talent and we were more than happy to get behind her in the build up to London 2012.
ATHLETE Eilish McColgan’s dreams of competing in Glasgow 2014 look closer to a happy ending after she signed a deal with spring water firm macb.
Eilish, whose mum is sporting hero Liz McColgan, was at Scotstoun Stadium on Monday to announce news of her sponsorship agreement.
The talented steeplechase runner has signed a five-figure, three-year deal. And she says it will help her make a real splash in competition.
It’s a big boost for Eilish, 21, who broke her foot eight months ago. She said: “This is obviously a big year for me and there have been some huge hurdles to jump over, no pun intended.
“I was forced to take things slowly but now I’m in great shape.”
Eilish gave up valuable time to inspire and motivate our pupils. She talked about the importance of the Olympic Values of respect, dedication, friendship, courage and selflessness to name a few and how important these values are to have for anything you do in life. She encouraged the children to be involved in lots of different sports, have a healthy life style and be committed to their school work.
We would like to say a great big thank you to Eilish from all of us at Dens Road P.S. and we wish her every success on reaching the London 2012 Olympics."
But when Eilish McColgan was cheered on by her world champion mother in the school grounds she knew that one day she wanted to stand on the podium, too.
Champ in the making: Eilish gets a few words of encouragement from her mother as she competes in her first school sport's day 
