Like mother, like daughter. Thirty-six years after Liz McColgan was crowned Commonwealth champion over 10,000m in Edinburgh, she was matched by Eilish to a deafening roar in Birmingham. At 31, the younger McColgan has her first major international title and it came in the race of the meet so far, pulling clear of Kenya’s Irene Chepet Cheptai down the final straight.
Finally, she fulfilled the potential that has always been evident and confirmed the step up in class she has made over the past two years. At the magnificent Alexander Stadium, there will not be a bigger cheer than the wall of sound that cheered her to victory, with Liz at the heart of it.
Eilish said: “To have my family here, the crowd on that last 200, I cannot explain, it was vibrating through my whole body. I’ve never sprinted like that in my life. Without the crowd, I wouldn’t have finished like that. I wanted it so badly. It’s so special. To have it here in the UK, this is my third Commonwealth Games and my fourth event. I’ve done the 1500, the 5k, the steeplechase, I’ve finally found my event. To win it tonight is incredible.
