Edinburgh runner Lynsey Sharp has been promised all the backing she needs to qualify for next summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as the European 800metres champion faces an uncertain coaching future.
UK Athletics endurance coach Terrence Mahon, who has overseen the Scot’s career for the past 12 months, is to return to America to launch a performance programme in Boston.
The American’s departure comes at the end of a season where Sharp was forced to have minor surgery to put her ambitions back on track.
Missing the summer’s competitions meant the 23-year-old London Olympian was the highest-profile omission from the initial selections for Scotland’s team for Glasgow 2014, leaving her to chase the qualification standards next spring.
But with a rehabilitation programme under way, Sharp will get extra support to plot out her immediate future.
“The support for Lynsey has been ongoing,” said Scottish Athletics chief executive Nigel Holl. “Lynsey and our head coach Stephen Maguire are in close contact, which is appropriate but we can’t make decisions for her. What we can do is make sure all aspects are considered. And if we can play a role, in terms of guidance, advice or financial support, then we’ll do so. The good thing is we are liaising with UK Athletics performance director. Lynsey’s had a tough season due to injury, but she’s still a class athlete and we’re supporting her.”
Sharp is one of a small group of high-profile athletes whose places in Glasgow are not yet cemented, with Lee McConnell missing this season due to pregnancy and pole vaulter Gregor Maclean asked to re-assess his approach to the sport before he can be considered for selection.
The door, Holl claimed, will be left open until the last possible minute.
“The criteria are simple,” he said. “What that means in terms of numbers, I suspect, could be a Scotland team into the high 30s.
“That would no mean achievement. We’ve got a group who are coming through who are performing. Will they all be ready for Glasgow? Probably not. That’s the reality. But we’ll be working on it.”