Timetable for our Scottish athletes with GB and NI
Good luck to our #Tokyoten !
We’re excited about no fewer than 10 Scots being with the Novuna GB and NI team for the World Champs in Japan.
The action starts on Saturday and runs for nine days in total through to Sunday 21 September with the TV times reasonably favourable for audiences here – give or take some heats in the early hours.
It is a special moment for the athletes themselves and their families and coaches but also strong representation collectively.
The Novuna GB and NI team numbers 64 athletes in total so the Scottish cohort counts as 15.6 percent of that tally.
Hopes will be high for making finals in Japan with Josh Kerr defending champion in the Men’s 1500m effectively leading our cohort.
Laura Muir will compete for the 21st time as a Senior at a major champs for GB while the Scottish endurance pathway continues to deliver with picks for the younger trio of Olympian Megan Keith, steeplechaser Sarah Tait and 1500m runner Erin Wallace.
Jake Wightman looks to put difficult injury years behind him; Nick Percy has his ambitions in the discus and Nicole Yeargin is selected in the Women’s 4x400m and the Mixed Relay – so may have a couple of chances to repeat her Olympic medal successes.
Like Laura, Jemma Reekie will be setting her sights on the 800m semis and finals in what looks like a hot event alongside strong British rivals Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter-Bell.
Tokyo: Ten picked for GB and NI team for Worlds
Nick Percy (photo by Bobby Gavin)
There’s been some good preview content coverage across Scottish media outlets and our own channels in the countdown to Tokyo.
We’re pleased to share some of these below . ..
Nick Percy BBC Sport Scotland feature
‘It is exciting,’ said discus pick Nick Percy, who is second in the all-time UK discus standings, with a distance of 67.86m.
‘It is a little bit scary, but also I have been trying to find a way of not putting that pressure on now, because for me a World Championships is still another step up from where I am, even over the last few years.
‘So this is still just part of the journey and moving towards next year with the Europeans and the Commonwealth Games.
‘That is the standard where I can definitely excel and grow – and still keep looking to the future of where these big opportunities are going to be.’
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Jake Wightman (gold) and Laura Muir (bronze) were on the podium at the 2022 World Champs in Oregon
BBC Sport website piece on Jake Wightman
Jake Wightman has had a couple of tough years and missed the UK Champs – but he rejects the notion he is one of the most unfortunate athletes around.
‘If you only knew my career since 2022, you would think that I am the most unlucky athlete in the world, but I have been doing the sport at this level since about 2015, so I have had a lot of years where stuff has gone my way and I have had moments that a lot of people would love to have had
‘So it is not like my career is being defined by low points. I have had some amazing high points with it, so for me that counters these low ones.
‘I am a big believer the perseverance will come through at some point and I will be rewarded for still showing up and still putting the work in.’
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Jemma en route to Tokyo earlier this week (photo by Gary Mitchell)
Jemma Reekie says being on the same British team as Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter-Bell can be inspirational in Tokyo.
The trio all compete in the Women’s 800m and Jemma says it is understandable is she is given less of the attention pre-event.
‘A lot of people maybe won’t think about me but it is amazing to be part of what is happening at the moment in Britain (in Women’s 800m), Jemma told Mark Woods for the Sunday Post.
‘I have so much respect for Keely and what she is achieving. I look up to that and wonder if there are any gains I can make.’
Jemma has a wedding date to come soon after the World Champs but planning the big event with John will now be suspended.
‘I’ve enjoyed preparing for the wedding but in Tokyo my racing head will be on for a couple of weeks. I will switch back onto that when I return.’
Tags:
Jake Wightman, Jemma Reekie, Nick Percy
AloJapan.com