Former European 10,000m champion hopeful athletics can use its role models from this summer to help rejuvenate the sport
Even five-time Olympians have role models. Jo Pavey can reel off a string of names whose recent performances have given her an extra bit of inspiration and motivation as she prepares for her next training session.
“Seeing the likes of Eilish McColgan, Laura Muir and Katarina Johnson-Thompson win [Commonwealth gold] was amazing,” enthuses the 48-year-old, who also singles out Jake Wightman’s World Championships winning 1500m in Eugene as a moment to savour. “A 63-second last lap [in McColgan’s 10,000m win]? I mean, I was just blown away. It was awesome.”
After the stagnation brought about by Covid, this championships-laden summer has begun to create a momentum around athletics which hasn’t been seen for years. With the World Championships bouncing back, crowds flocking to those Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the athletics at the European Championships in Munich about to get under way, there is a level of attention and interest which hasn’t been seen years.
As my colleague Jason Henderson wrote recently, however, the challenge now is to take advantage of the spotlight and grow the sport – whether that be through higher attendances, higher participation levels…or both.
Recent research conducted by The National Lottery (TNL) has shown that parents feel sporting activity such as these aforementioned championships or England’s European title-winning Lionesses football team appearing on TV and in the media provides important inspiration for their children to become more active.
With that in mind, TNL is working with parkrun to urge people to get out and get active at one of their many free events this coming weekend. There are over 700 parkruns and over 300 junior parkruns in the UK alone – but participation numbers are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and Pavey, for one, will be lacing up her shoes and persuading others to take part.
Eilish McColgan (Mark Shearman)
The World, Commonwealth and European medallist is now also involved in coaching, alongside her husband Gavin, but still loves to test herself – whether that be on the trails or the track. She can see how the current generation of athletes can help attract more people to the sport but, as someone who regularly involves her own children with her running, she also knows setting an example at home is crucial, too.
“Getting people involved,…
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