Support act: Eilish on hand to help Megan after tough night in Pairs - Scottish Athletics

This blog post was written on Friday, August 9th, 2024.

Eilish McColgan showed her support for the entire athletics community in Scotland by comforting Megan Keith with a hug after a challenging evening in Paris.

The pair from Scotland competed for Team Great Britain in the Women's 10,000m final at the Olympic Games.

Eilish had a very unique and memorable experience as she made history by being the first Scot in track and field to participate in four Olympics. This impressive feat came twelve years after she first competed in the London 2012 Olympics.

Despite facing challenges and having minimal race experience in the past year, she pushed herself to finish 15th in 31 minutes and 20 seconds, placing as the third European out of 25 athletes.

Megan persevered through an ankle injury during her training and faced a tough evening. Despite this, she pushed through and completed the race with a solo run, finishing in 33:19.92 and securing 23rd place.

She cried as she reached the finish line, but Eilish held back to wait for her teammate. The older woman showed her admiration for Megan very openly.

In the final stretch, Beatrice Chebet from Kenya surged ahead to win, while Nadia Battocletti from Italy took a well-deserved second place. Sifan Hassan finished in third to clinch the bronze medal.

The high standard and talent in the competition was evident with the 25 participants listed to start.

Megan entered the race ranked 18th in the world, while Eilish was ranked 28th due to her injury-plagued preparation over the past year.

"It was challenging, I found it really challenging," Eilish said.

I didn't have much experience in racing, and it's a whole new ball game on the track. But I'm feeling satisfied with myself. I managed to start the race and make it to the finish line. Today was a tough challenge for me.

It was mentally challenging. For other competitions, you have the option to skip them and focus on preparing your body. The past five and a half weeks have been fantastic. I couldn't have hoped for anything better.

I put in all the effort I could, exercising to make sure I was in top condition.

I don't think I performed as well as I wanted to tonight, which is disappointing. However, you can't pass up the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games. I'm frustrated that I didn't keep up with the leaders as closely as I had hoped. Despite my disappointment, I am still very proud of my performance.

Megan had hurt her ankle a couple of weeks ago and had been taking care of it.

“That was the most difficult 25 laps I've ever completed,” she exclaimed.

I felt really pleased to complete the race today. Actually, I was thrilled to have been able to start the race and even more thrilled to cross the finish line.

Although I arrived home later than others, I am happy to be back as a participant in the Olympics.

The Inverness Harriers hosted a gathering at their club. The enthusiastic atmosphere in the Highlands indicated that the sense of pride was not limited to just Eilish and Megan.

Keywords: Eilish McColgan, Megan Keith, Olympic Games, Paris 2024