SCOTTISH athletes selected for Scotland's Glasgow 2014 squad are revving up the pace for next year's games.

 

Among the big names who were celebrating their place on Team Scotland were Elderslie marathon runner Derek Hawkins, Glasgow University student Laura Muir and wheelchair athlete Meggan Dawson-Farrell, who trains in Glasgow.

They were among 27 sportsmen and women - 23 from athletics and four squash players - unveiled at a special event at the People's Palace and Winter Gardens in Glasgow Green, reported in later editions of last night's Evening Times.

The park will host the start and finish of the Glasgow 2014 marathon, where Derek makes his Commonwealth Games debut next summer.

The 24-year-old, who works on the checkout at Morrisons supermarket in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, part time, hit the qualifying time at the London Marathon in April, becoming one of the first athletes to secure his spot.

He said: "It feels good to be one of the first selected.

"It is a bit of relief as it means now I can direct all my effort and concentration on Glasgow.

"I don't need to worry about getting another marathon in before to secure selection so I can prepare as fully as I can now."

Despite undergoing surgery, Meggan, 21, met the qualifying criteria for the T54 1500m event by more than 30 seconds on a couple of occasions last season.

She trains with Red Star Athletics Club, for athletes with disabilities, which is based at Crownpoint Sports Complex, a stone's throw from the People's Palace.

Meggan, from Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, who holds the Scottish record for every distance from the 400m to the marathon, has spina bifida hydrocephalus and was in the Southern General throughout the winter undergoing an operation to fit a shunt - a device which drains cerebral fluid from the brain.

She said: "I spent December to February ill in hospital so I was juggling that and trying to get the time as well was a hard struggle for me, but I was determined I would get there.

"Because it's in Glasgow and the fact that I'm from Scotland, it is lovely to be selected and to be in the first selection, it is even more special."

Third year veterinary student Laura, 20, from Milnathort, Kinross, will compete in the 1500m at Glasgow 2014. She will be joined on the track by other big names including Eilidh Child, who has qualified for the 440m hurdles, and Eilish McColgan who will run the 3000m Steeplechase.

The Scottish squad will be made up of around 250 athletes and is set to be the biggest Scottish team ever to compete at a Commonwealth Games.

matty.sutton@eveningtimes.co.uk