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• Budapest gold is ‘pipe dream’ as Eilish McColgan bids to break 30-minute barrier

  Eilish McColgan says winning gold at this summer’s World Championships is a “pipe dream” and she is instead focusing on breaking the 30-minute barrier in the 10,000 metres.

  The 32-year-old Scot is recovering from the knee injury which forced her to pull out of the London Marathon last month just days before the race.

  She returned to light training at the weekend with the August event in Budapest in her sights but admits that her time on the sidelines has severely hampered her chances of topping the podium.

   

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  McColgan has had incredible success in the 10,000 metres over recent years, winning gold in the European Championships in 2021 and then at the Commonwealth Games 12 months later before creating history in March of this year by setting a new British record of 30:00.86.

  And now she wants to become the first non-African-born woman to go under 30 minutes.

  On her chances of winning gold in Budapest she told the PA news agency: “That would exceed my goals right now because of the setbacks I have had. I think it would be a pipe dream right now, but I am not going to set myself any real limits.

  “To be in Budapest and be at the start and healthy would be a big achievement to be honest.

  “But my big thing this year would be to break the 30 minutes in the 10k. I think there are only 12 women in the world who have done that, it would be a big achievement for me.

  “Earlier in the year I had no doubt I could break 30 minutes, now there is a little bit of a doubt because I haven’t been able to train for the last so many weeks.

  “It does put a little bit of a question mark over whether I can do it and perhaps that is one for next season, but it would be really nice to be in Budapest and be competitive.

  “To be in the top six fastest women in the world… that would be a great achievement.”

  It has been a frustrating few weeks for McColgan, having to rehab her knee problem, which fortunately did not need surgery.

  And she cites recovering from injuries as one of the main triggers of stress in her job, especially as she says that her method of dealing with it is to go out and run.

  “It’s a very privileged job that I have, it is not quite the same pressures as other people may have but we are still humans, we are not robots at the end of the day, so we do have pressures,” McColgan added.

  “The biggest pressure is coming back from injury but we go through the same stresses as everyone else because with regards injury and illness, if we don’t race or compete that is how we pay our bills.

  “It is the biggest pressure, coming back from injury and making sure you’re healthy.

  “It is maybe more challenging for myself, running is ultimately what can cause my stress but it is what I use as a stress release. That is difficult if I am injured and I can’t do the thing I love.

  “You train hard for years of your career for months and months on end to race. That lends itself to pressure, you build yourself up to that one event.

  “Usually it’s the World Championships or Olympic Games because it is one day every four years where you have to be ready. It is quite big stakes when it is one day in four years.

  “You think, ‘s***, that is not easy’. It is challenging to get the right balance of really enjoying your sport without it becoming too intense.”

  A recent study has revealed that 85 per cent of people say sweating can increase stress levels, even though it is proven to have health benefits.

  McColgan is part of deodorant brand Bionsen’s ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff’ campaign, which aims to remove the stigma of sweating and offer tips on how to manage stress.

  McColgan added: “I don’t think people should be afraid to sweat. A few years ago it was almost like women didn’t want to be seen to be sweating, but now it is more of a confidence thing. Being active and keeping fit and being afraid to sweat is hard work, but that is what it takes.”

  :: Bionsen’s full deodorant range is available from £2.69 at a variety of retailers including Boots, Amazon and Bionsen’s website: https://bionsen.uk/

• Katarina Johnson-Thompson finishes second on return to heptathlon in Gotzis

  Katarina Johnson-Thompson marked her competitive return to heptathlon with a second-place finish at the Hypomeeting in Gotzis, Austria.

  Johnson-Thompson, in her first outing since winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in August last year, finished runner-up to American Anna Hall, who topped the podium with a personal-best 6,988 points.

  However, the 30-year-old, who has endured an injury-hit past couple of years, recorded a tally of 6,556 points, marking the Liverpudlian’s best haul since winning the world title in 2019.

  A throw of 13.92 metres represented a lifetime best in the shot put while her 1.89m high jump was her highest clearance in four years.

  Fellow Briton Jade O’Dowda finished 10th in the two-day meet.

• Rasheed Broadbell, Shericka Jackson set meet records, Steven Gardiner dominates 400m at Rabat Diamond League

  Rasheed Broadbell, Shericka Jackson and Steven Gardiner won their respective events in impressive fashion at the Diamond League meeting in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday.

  In the 110m hurdles delayed by two faulty starts and run into a headwind of 1.3 m/s, Broadbell, the Commonwealth Games champion, used his trademark late surge to defeat World Champion Grant Holloway and set a new meet record of 13.08.

  “I am happy about how I performed today. I am pleased to get this win. I managed to get this victory by being focused during the race. My goal this year is to execute well,” said Broadbell, who broke the previous meet record of 13.12 set by David Oliver in 2016.

  “I would like to thank the crowd here for being supportive and fantastic. I am getting ready for the world championship by staying healthy and in good shape.”

  Holloway equaled the previous record 13.12 while finishing second. Olympic champion Hansle Parchment was third in 13.24 edging Devon Allen who was fourth in 13.25.

  Jackson, the reigning 200m world champion and the second-fastest woman of all time over the distance, recovered from a sluggish start to set a new meet record of 21.98. Finishing second was Bahamian Anthonique Strachan, who ran a lifetime best of 22.15. American Tamari Davis also ran a lifetime best of 22.30 for third.

  Stephen Gardiner ran an easy 44.70 to win the 400m ahead of Vernon Norwood, who ran 45.11 for second place. Rusheen McDonald surged late to finish third in 45.55.

  In the opening race, the Women’s 400m hurdles Shamier Little ran a season 53.95 with three Jamaicans in her wake. Rushell Clayton, who led heading into the seventh hurdle, was not far behind in 54.15 while Shian Salmon, who seemed to stumble over the 10^th and final hurdle, recovered to finish strong in 54.42m for third.

  Janieve Russell finished fourth in 55.41.

  Cuba’s Leyanis Perez Fernandez established a world-leading 14.84m to win the triple jump. Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk took second place with her best jump of 14.65m with two-time world championship silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts finishing third with her season-best effort of 14.53m.