05 December 2013

World 4x400m relay bronze medallist Eilidh Child (coach: Malcolm Arnold) is to captain the first ever Scottish team at the Glasgow British Athletics International Match on Saturday 25 January 2014.

Child will lead the team in the first major international event in Glasgow in 2014, as the city gears up for the Commonwealth Games. The Scottish Athlete of the Year will line up in the 400m and is excited to be a part of the event’s history at the Emirates Arena.

“I’m really honoured to be named captain and it’ll be an immensely proud occasion for me to lead the Scottish team out at the Glasgow British Athletics International Match. There is some really good talent coming through, so it is great for everyone to have the opportunity to compete at the Emirates Arena before the Commonwealth Games. It will also give fans the chance to come out and watch some of the athletes they might not have heard of before the summer,” said Child, who won Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles silver in 2010.

“We don’t really get the chance that often to compete in front of a home crowd. I was at this event at the start of this year, but it was one of the first times I’ve had that Scottish support for quite a few years. People always get behind all the athletes, so to have that opportunity to go out there and show what we can do with a huge crowd behind us will be incredible.”

Child will be joined in the team by IAAF World Championships by European U23 bronze medallists Laura Muir (Andy Young) and high jumper Allan Smith (Fuzz Ahmed), who will line up in the 800m and high jump respectively.  

Chris O’Hare (Steve Gulley) will return from the United States after a successful collegiate career to wear the Scottish colours in the 1500m after a successful 2013 season which included a new personal best of 3:35.37 in July. A month later, the 23 year old marked his major championship debut with a spot in 1500m final in Moscow.

Jamie Bowie (Piotr Haczek) teammate of Child, Muir and O’Hare in Russia will be looking to continue his rise up the ranks, running in the 400m. Guy Learmonth (George Gandy) will take to the track in the rarely run 600m with the aim of breaking the Scottish record of 1:18.0 set by David Jenkins 40 years ago this Sunday.

The Glasgow British Athletics International Match will also welcome some of the stars from the London 2012 Paralympic Games. For the first time in the event’s 23 year history, para-athletes will contribute to the overall team score and Scotland’s Libby Clegg (Keith Antoine) and Stef Reid (Rana Reider) will be looking to post maximum points at the Emirates Arena.

Clegg will line up alongside guide runner Mikail Huggins in the T12 60m after winning double silver at the IPC World Championships, while Reid will compete in the F44 long jump with the aim of replicating the form that saw her leap to silver at London 2012.

The full Scotland team for the Glasgow British Athletics International Match will be announced in due course.

Upon her announcement as Scotland captain, Eilidh Child visited The National Piping Centre to speak about the Glasgow British Athletics International Match, while also testing her hand at the bagpipes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyMQ8baF-8c&feature=youtu.be

 Tickets for the Glasgow British Athletics International Match are on sale at www.britishathletics.org.uk