Middle-distance runner Chris Smith has switched allegiances from England to Scotland in a bid to land a dream ticket to next year’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

The 20-year-old, who finished fourth in the 800m at the England Under-23 Championships this summer, is born and bred in Merseyside but has opted to run for Scotland after qualifying through his Glasgow-born mum, Joanne.

Smith ended the 2009 season ranked 27th in the UK but knows he now has a major chance to qualify for Delhi with Graeme Oudney and Kris Gauson the only Scots with a better personal best than him.

The Wirral AC athlete has an 800m best of 1:48.20minutes, and he said: “I may sound English but I’m now Scottish because my mum was born in Glasgow and I’ve chosen to represent them.

“My mum, Joanne, was really happy about me choosing Scotland, it’s obviously a really big decision whether to choose Scotland or stick with England.

“But I looked at next year’s Commonwealths and the ones coming up in 2014 in Glasgow and it would be great to be a home runner there.