JONATHAN COATES
AFTER two years in the wilderness, Athens Olympian Nick Smith is back in business and eyeing up a tilt at Elliot Bunny’s Scottish indoor record over 60 metres.
The sprinter from Dunfermline was a member of Britain’s victorious relay squad in Athens in 2004, but a torn hamstring a year later stalled his career badly. Now 24, he believes he has the physical support network that could save him from the fate that befell fellow- Fifer, Ian Mackie, who retired after a decade of injury torment.
Smith ran 6.77secs at last weekend’s district championships and hopes to go quicker this weekend when the nation’s finest gather at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. Bunny’s mark stands at 6.62. In 2004, Smith twice recorded 6.63 and now, finally, can feel the old sprightliness coming back.
“I’m taking each race as it comes, but I’d like to get into the 6.60s this weekend and try to mix it with the big guys, because I know I can,” he said yesterday in Glasgow, where rain washed out the first day of Norwich Union’s innovative athletics festival in George Square.
"I’ve done it before and I’m raring to go. In 2005 I tore my hamstring midway through the season and had a lack of confidence that lasted right through last season as well. But now it’s all clicking back into place.
“Ian Mackie has given me some good advice in the past, he’s a great guy and it was sad to see him retire. In 1996 when he reached the Olympic semi-finals I couldn’t believe it, and you obviously look at him and think it’s a shame he didn’t fulfil his potential. I’ve got a great support team at B&Q and my coach, Malcolm Fairweather, is a sports scientist. He is looking at me biomechanically and, if there are any flaws there, he will correct them.”
Another athlete reaping the benefits of the indoor season is Gillian Cooke. The long-jumper defeated Susan Burnside, the athletic inspiration of her schooldays in Edinburgh, over 60m last weekend, earning a guest lane in the Norwich Union International at the Kelvin Hall a week tomorrow.
The 24-year-old is so versatile that, five years ago, she came second in the Scottish Universities shot putt. While the heptathlon remains a pipe dream, her sprinting capabilities could open the door this winter to the European Indoor Championships.
“I always like to do the 60m indoors - the 100m is a bit far for me, but the 60 gives me a chance to compete with the sprinters,” said Cooke.
“My ankles say no to the triple jump, but I just enjoy athletics in general, and I tend to migrate towards the good events. I am a long jumper, but I like a bit of competition and I’m not scared to try different events.”
Weather permitting, the athletics festival - essentially, track-and-field simulation in inflatable huts - will continue today and tomorrow, with admission free to the public.