EILISH McCOLGAN admits she’s lacking a cutting edge but the Scot pushed herself to the limit to carve out a place in tomorrow night’s 5000 metres final at the world championships in Oregon.
Tenth in last weekend’s 10,000m, the 31-year-old earned a small chance of some redemption by finishing seventh in her semi in 14:56.47, good enough to qualify as a fastest loser with British team-mate Jess Judd one place behind and also progressing.
It has been a tough build-up for the Dundonian that has knocked her off her stride. Covid, laryngitis, then a hamstring tweak.
“I feel like I’m not turning the way I would like,” she reflects.
But with the Commonwealth Games and, possibly, the European Championships ahead before her attention turns to the marathon, another rehearsal in Eugene is the best tune-up available, she believes.
“To be honest, I need races right now, so my boyfriend said to make this a hard training run and I felt like I did. It’s not where I want to be but it is where we are at. But I’m proud to have made the final.
“It was absolutely boiling conditions, so it is a lot tougher than the 10,000m final. I knew after the first heat that sub 15 would make it to the final, so I wanted to make it hard. Today was another step forward, and to run sub 15 on my own is a positive. Two hard races behind me, one more to go.”
Nicole Yeargin’s bid to make this evening’s women’s 400m final fell short when the Fifer trailed in fourth in her semi in 51.22 secs.
Compatriots Victoria Ohuruogu and Ama Pipi also missed out but Yeargin, who will now focus on this weekend’s 4x400 relay, blamed herself for leaving her challenge too late.
She said: “I tried to get out not as hard this time. I think I killed myself on that. That’s really it. Just not going off hard enough. I tried to save a little bit for the end this time, but I saved too much.”
Matt Hudson-Smith bolted into tonight’s men’s 400m final and then declared he’s in it to win it. Second in his semi in 44.38 secs, the in-form Brummie looks capable of backing up his boast.
He said: “I can win this. I’ll get ready for the final. I had something left but I messed up big time on the last 50, big time. I just went long, that means I started striding long and it broke my speed, just like doing the chicken dance – that’s what we call it. If I correct those two things, I’m on my way through.”
Elsewhere, Aimee Pratt lowered her British record for the second time in Oregon to finish an impressive seventh in the women’s 3000m steeplechase final. The Mancunian clocked 9.15.64, breezing past former world champion Emma Coburn on the home straight after Kenyan-born Kazakh Norah Jeruto had claimed victory in a championship record of 8:53.02.
And Pratt said: “I’ve been dying for a race like that for a long time, you don’t get those races they don’t come by very often and I wanted to make sure I took the opportunity when it came. I wanted to finish top eight and I’m still quite early on in my career – steeplechase is a mature event, you can’t rush the event, you need the years on years.
“But I think I am at a good place in my career right now and the next few years I’m expecting to step up a lot.”
