Manchester may not be the centre of the athletics universe but for the next two days anyway, it’s the only place that matters to Scotland’s top athletes.
This weekend, the UK Athletics Championships takes place and with spots in the British team for next month’s World Championships on the line, there is much at stake over the next 48 hours.
To guarantee a seat on the plane to Budapest next month, a top two placing this weekend, as well as having achieved UK Athletics’ qualification standard, is necessary, with a third place available in each event at the discretion of the selectors.
As we’ve all become accustomed to over the past few years, the main Scottish interest comes in the middle-distance events.
The glaring absence is Jake Wightman, with the 28-year-old world 1500m champion admitting this week that an injury he sustained in training earlier in the year just hasn’t healed and he’ll miss both this weekend’s event as well as the World Championships next month as he bids to regain full fitness for next summer’s Olympic Games.
However, despite Wightman being missing this weekend, there will be no shortage of Scottish interest at the business end of both the 800m and 1500m.
On the women’s side, Olympic medallist Laura Muir is heavy favourite for the 1500m title but having split suddenly with her long-time coach, Andy Young, earlier this year, the 30-year-old has been short of her best so far this season and so these UK Championships will give an indication if she’s starting to rediscover the form that has seen her collect six major championship medals in two years. She will be joined on the start line by her compatriots, Jenny Selman and Eloise Walker.
Muir’s friend and training partner, Jemma Reekie, left Young’s training group simultaneously but her recent fortunes have differed from Muir’s.
Reekie had a hugely disappointing season last year, down in no small part down to a bout of glandular fever, but the early signs this year are that she is approaching something close to the form that saw her finish fourth in the Olympic 800m final in Tokyo.
However, Reekie will have to produce the run of her life if she’s to successfully defend the British 800m title she won last year as she’s up against the new superstar of British athletics, Olympic and world medallist, Keely Hodgkinson.
On the men’s side, Olympic 1500m medallist, Josh Kerr, has made the interesting decision to contest the 800m rather than his favoured 1500m where he will be joined on the start line by Guy Learmonth in wide open race that sees as many as half a dozen men in contention for World Championship selection.
In the 1500m, Neil Gourley is out to establish himself as a medal contender at major outdoor championships.
The 28-year-old won European Indoor silver earlier this year and, having already set a new personal best this summer, is in the shape of his life and has every chance of regaining the British title he won in 2019.
In the shorter distances, there has been quite the collective improvement from the Scottish contingent in recent seasons.
Over the past year, Adam Clayton, Adam Thomas, Alisha Rees and Georgina Adam have all produced some of the fastest times ever by Scottish sprinters.
However, in the men’s 100m, the outright favourite for the UK title is new British record holder, Zharnel Hughes, with Dina Asher-Smith tipped to take the titles in the women’s 100m and 200m.
In the 400m, Olympian Nicole Yeargin will be looking for World Championships selection yet again while a strong showing by Carys McAulay will give her a chance of making the relay squad.
In the field events, there’s also a number of Scots targeting both British titles and World Championship selection; Will Grimsey and David Smith in the high jump, Chris Bennett in the hammer and Nick Percy and Kirsty Law in the discus.
There will be, however, a number of other notable names joining Wightman on the sidelines this weekend.
Scottish record holder and 2018 British Champion, Beth Dobbin will be absent from the 200m having missed this entire season due to ill health.
400m Olympian and relay world medallist Zoe Clark is also sitting this season out due to injury, Scottish 5000m record holder Andy Butchart is giving these UK Championships a miss as he looks to step up to the marathon and Erin Wallace, who dipped under 2 minutes for the 800m just a few weeks ago, was a late withdrawal.
Those who don’t grab an automatic qualifying spot this weekend for the World Championships will have an anxious wait to find out their fate, however, with the full GB squad for Budapest not confirmed until the end of the month.
