Kinross 400m hurdler Eilidh Child has been named in the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team to compete at the SPAR European Championships in Barcelona (27 July- 1 August).

 

Child, tipped by UK Athletics for a ‘breakthrough championships at the iconic Olympic stadium’, will  be in the team with ten medallists from the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and five from the World Indoors held in Doha earlier this year.  

 

“I’ve been to the European juniors before but this is the first time I have been in the senior event,” said the delighted 23 year old. 

Child tasted success at last month’s European Team Cup in Norway where she surpassed even her own expectations and finished second in a strong field behind Russian Natalya Antyukh.

 

This was an impressive showing from the athlete who admits amongst the seniors she is a relative unknown. 

But it was in Poland, also in June, where she secured the European Championships qualifying time:  “I recorded an A time of 55.17 in Poland this month, breaking the Scottish record which got me in the team.”  

Child’s progress has for the past two seasons benefited from the input of key Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport staff who have worked in close partnership with the coaching team, Stuart Hogg and Aileen McGillivary.  TFIS support has allowed her progress to be tracked methodically and assisted in her remaining fit and healthy throughout the season.  

She is certainly making her mark on the European stage and is hoping that she gets the chance to impress at the Commonwealths in Delhi later this year. Child also admits it will be nice to represent Scotland at a major competition and has already achieved the team’s pre-selection criteria.

 

“This season has been going really well, touch wood I won’t pick up any injuries on the run in to Delhi,” she said.  

 

“I definitely want to be part of the team and it would be very special to represent my country.  Right now though all of my focus is on doing well at the Europeans.”

Said UKA Head Coach Charles van Commenee: “The start of the European Championships coincides with the mark of two years to 2012 and this event provides us with a great marker of how far we have progressed and how far we still have to go. 

“We have a number of strong medal contenders in the squad and I am looking forward to witnessing some outstanding performances in British vests.”