Two Scots have been named in Britain’s team for the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Sweden next month.
Both of them are former pupils of Kinross High School Eilidh Child and Laura Muir. For Muir, the call-up is the culmination of a breakthrough few weeks in the sport.
The Milnathort teenager, who runs for Dundee Hawkhill Harriers, spent last spring lambing on a farm as part of her university course as a trainee vet.
Now she will be mixing it with Europe’s best in less than a fortnight as she swaps studies for Sweden and her first senior international competition.
The 19-year-old from Milnathort is in her second year at Glasgow Uni studying veterinary medicine. But the sharp rise in her athletics career was underlined by a 1500m call-up for Team GB and NI in Gothenburg on March 1-3 alongside fellow Kinross-shire athlete Child.
Lynsey Sharp, who won a silver medal at the European outdoor championships in Helsinki last summer, opted not to compete indoors this year despite setting the required standard and will turn her focus to outdoors as she targets 800m at the World Cham-pionships in August.
Guy Learmonth missed out as three other men were named by British Athletics for 800m with the Scot having set the required qualifying standard on two occasions with an indoor PB in Birmingham last weekend.
Muir won the Scottish cross country title a year ago this week at Under-20 level and then went to the World Juniors at 3000m and her improvement at 1500m has been rapid this season, with a first senior GB vest awarded in Glasgow in January.
“I’m delighted to be heading to Gothenburg for the European Indoors and it will be good to have Eilidh Child there on the team as well,” said Muir, the only woman named at 1500m.
“I won the UK title in Sheffield and had the qualifying time from a previous race in Vienna so knew I had done enough. I could relax a wee bit and didn’t need to race in the Birmingham Grand Prix.
“I was due to run in the Scottish Cross Country Champs at Falkirk on Saturday but, even though I love that event, it is better not to risk anything so close to Sweden. I plan to be there to cheer on my friends and my brother.
“After that it is Gothenburg and then I will try and fit in warm weather training ahead of the outdoor season.
“I have to do a certain amount of work experience to complete a part of my course but it is over a two-year period. I did the lambing last spring and really enjoyed that.”
Full-time athlete Child has been in excellent form indoors as the hurdler works on her speed via the 400m flat breaking the Scottish native and Scottish indoor records in the process.
Her latest run in Birmingham at 51.50 was the fourth fastest by a Brit. She will compete in the 400m in Gothenburg and is named in the 4 x 400m squad as well.
Sharp ran an indoor PB for 800m at the weekend in the Birmingham Grand Prix but, while that gave her the qualifying time for Sweden, she had never planned to compete in the European Indoors.
The scottishathletics Athlete of the Year 2012 tweeted: “For everyone who is asking, racing indoors was just a bit of fun and I did not wish to be considered for Euro Indoors. Roll on outdoors!”
Jenny Meadows was named as the sole women’s 800m representative and the Englishwoman will captain Team GB and NI in Sweden.
Dwain Chambers has been included despite failing to impress on his return from a back problem.
Double Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah, who won the 3,000m two years ago, is an expected absence from the team after previously indicating he was focusing on the outdoor season.