The 33-year-old Dundee native is “absolutely over the moon” to be competing for Team GB in a record-breaking fourth Olympic Games this summer. After missing the London Marathon and the World Championships due to injury over the past year, McColgan is back to full fitness and has decided to compete in the 10,000m event in Paris. Experienced Olympian Laura Muir, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Games, will also be competing for Team GB in the Women’s 1500m event.
Athletes like Neil Gourley, Nick Percy, and Megan Keith are also competing in their first Olympic games.In addition, Team GB is led by well-known athletes Josh Kerr, Jemma Reekie, Jake Wightman, and Nicole Yeargin, all of whom have guaranteed spots on the Olympic team. In a video statement sent by Scottish Athletics, McColgan declared, “I’m absolutely over the moon to be selected for my fourth Olympic Games.” “It has made the last 16 months even more difficult, knowing that I will have the opportunity to represent my country once more,” the speaker said.
Being the first-ever Scottish track and field athlete to represent at four games is an incredible honor, as it always is, but it’s an even greater privilege to represent the country.
I’m immensely proud of that accomplishment because it’s no small feat, and I can’t wait to return to work for the following five weeks. Even more amazing is that Megan (Keith), a fellow Scot, is standing beside me at the starting line. The two of us will undoubtedly work tirelessly to honor the nation.” She also posted an emotional letter to her Facebook followers shortly after the announcement.
It said, “4 X OLYMPIAN!!!” “It truly seems like a dream come true to declare that I will be participating in my FOURTH Olympic Games in Paris! “In the history of Great Britain track and field, the first Scottish athlete to reach four! “I have never stopped battling, even though the last 16 months have been some of the hardest of my career.
“I’m most proud of my never-giving-up attitude, even if Olympic cycles are awful. “To put it mildly, recovering from foot surgery to compete in London 2012 and ankle surgery prior to Rio 2016 was difficult! Save for contracting COVID 100 times like everyone else in the globe, preparations for Tokyo 2021 went well. And in preparation for Paris 2024, I’ve been struggling to recover from knee surgery. (Clearly, my body dislikes Olympic cycles because everything is rather easy in between those years!)
It’s unsettling to think that I’m probably the oldest member of the Team GB sports team now! When I competed in London 2012, 800m prodigy Phoebe Gill was only 5 years old. just horrible! Joking aside, though, it’s an enormous honor to start in the 10,000 meters alongside fellow Scot Megan. Even though Jess deserved to be here with us, she’s choosing to put her health first, which is far more important than race! Once again, I want to thank everyone for their encouragement and wonderful remarks, which I always try to read! And thanks for supporting me the entire time to my sponsors.
Come on, Team McColgan, can we reach five? #keepbelieving “LA 2028? “The Games are within touching distance now and I am delighted to welcome a hugely talented and exciting track and field squad to Team GB today,” said Mark England OBE, Chef de Mission for Team GB. “A very strong combination of Olympic, World, and European medallists make up the group. I have little doubt that the 35 rookies who made the team, as well as the larger Team GB, will find inspiration and encouragement from their experience.
We got a taste of what to anticipate in Paris next month thanks to some incredible breakthrough performances that athletics fans witnessed at the British Championships in Manchester last week.
Paula Dunn, the team leader, continued, “Congratulations to all the athletes and their support systems on being selected for Paris 2024.” It’s a pivotal point in their careers, and they’ve all put in a ton of effort to get here. “I’m wishing all of the chosen athletes luck as they finish up their training, and we’ll be working to make sure they can make the most of every resource available to them before they travel to Paris.
Athletes with numerous global medals are mixed brilliantly with some incredible youthful talent that has only recently emerged this season. This weekend’s Microplus UK Athletics Championships saw some competitors rise to the occasion with a variety of outstanding performances that met those standards. Based on this, we are certain that we have a strong squad that will compete for medals and slots in the Olympic final in Paris next month. This team knows how to perform at its peak. We’re quite happy of the squad that was named today, and it’s an exciting time for everyone.