Kilbarchan AAC star Krishawn Aiken admits it was a sweet feeling to be crowned double Scottish 100m and 200m champion - especially after being told he “wasn’t good enough to be a sprinter” in the past.
The 27-year-old put the seal on the best season of his career last weekend when he helped his club lift the 4x400m men’s gold at the 4J National Track Relays, running a blistering anchor leg to bring home the win and retain their title from 2021.
Last month the Glasgow University graduate raced his way to the 100m and 200m titles at the 4J Studios Senior Champs at Aberdeen.
Aiken says the medal-laden end of the season has helped him recover from the pain of missing out on reaching the qualifying standard for the Commonwealth Games by just three hundredths of a second earlier this year.
And he insists he’s ready to plan for next season and won’t rule out switching to shorter distances as he aims to make amends for missing out on Birmingham next year.
Speaking to Renfrewshire Live Sport, Aiken said: “It was a great way to end the season with the relays. There’s great camaraderie in that team as most of us train together, so we know each other very well.
“I was the last leg as the insurance policy, just to make sure things went well at the end. You never know how relays will pan out but I was confident I could bring us over the line.
“Becoming double Scottish champ was something I wanted to add to my list this year. I’d done the 400m and 200m double before, I think in 2017, but the last few years I’ve been doing more 100m and 200m races and I’ve been putting in the fastest times I’ve ever had.
“I’ve been told that I wasn’t good enough to be a sprinter in the past. In a sphere like sports, it’s never nice to be put in a box.
“I won’t name them, but I can certainly take confidence from my recent results.
“I wanted to make the Commonwealth team this year and missed out by just 0.03 seconds off the target time of 20.71. It was a pretty rough summer to be honest living with that, but I’ve had to make my peace with it and you can’t live in the past.
“It’s still been my best season ever and I’ve run faster than ever before. As long as I’m fit and I keep improving, I’m sure I can redeem myself and qualify for tournaments in the future.”
After a well-earned break, Aiken will sit down with his coach Chris Baillie and decide what distance he should be targeting next year.
He admits he doesn’t know which lane they will pick, but is certain he will give it his all once the focus is locked in.
Aiken said: “It’ll be nice to have a bit of downtime now but I’m already looking forward to next season, starting with the indoor season in January.
“I’ll be having a discussion with my coach about what to focus on. If it’s acceleration I need to work on I’ll look to do more 60m races, or if it’s back to long and strong then it’ll be more 200m and 400m races.
“I’m looking to make the Europeans next year so it will come down to what we both think is the most achievable and attainable.
“I won’t put too much pressure on myself, but I’m excited already to see what the future holds.”
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