Photo by Sam Mellish for UK Athletics
Megan Keith prepared for the heat and humidity of Tokyo by training for six weeks in a special sauna-like chamber at Edinburgh University.
All that hard work paid off in Japan as the Scot finished tenth in the Women’s 10,000m in tough conditions with temperatures around 30 degrees.
Megan finished top Brit, second European and directly qualifies for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next summer (with top 12 in Tokyo an automatic selection).
Her performance was a major highlight of day one from the Scottish perspective with Nicole Yeargin close to another global medal as she anchored GB and NI to fifth place in the Mixed Relay final.
Unfortunately, Laura Muir departed the Women’s 1500m in the heats with Erin Wallace, also placed eighth with the top six assured of progress, missing out as well albeit on her first appearance at this level for the Giffnock North AC athlete.
Laura was competing for the seventh time for GB and NI at the Worlds but that selection record will be of little consolation to the multiple medallist with her anguish laid bare across the Tokyo coverage.
Photo by Sam Mellish for UK Athletics
Megan was delighted with her tenth place in 31:33.85 in that Women’s 10,00m final.
‘Yeah, that was tough,’ she said.
‘I was realising this morning, I’ve not managed to be healthy and all guns blazing on the start of a championship 10k before, because Paris didn’t go my way and I was kind of injured also going into Euros last year.
‘So it was a new experience to me that I felt like I could fight this time and I was fit and healthy and ready to go. It was just an exciting one to be on the start-line knowing I could handle what was thrown at me.
‘I had kind of contentment on the start line, and I knew all going well I would be on the finish line, whereas the last two champs have been more of a question.
‘But then you can’t take that heat for granted as well. It was still absolutely brutal out there!’
Nicole Yeargin was involved in the opening heats as GB and NI qualified for the Mixed Relay final.
It was a thrilling race – United States took gold – and the British quartet of Lewis Davey, Emily Newnham, Toby Harries and Nicole were always in contention,
Nicole fought hard on the anchor leg with a split of 50.77 but had to settle for fifth in a time of 3:10.84.
Photo by Sam Mellish for British Athletics
Laura suffered a…
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