Brodie Young has already ticked-off a significant career milestone.
In breaking the long-standing Scottish Indoor 400m record last year, the 23-year-old from Lanarkshire sent a signal to the track and field world that he was very much ready to make a breakthrough.
What made Young's record-breaking run all the more impressive was the fact the previous Scottish record had been standing for almost four decades, with Brian Whittle setting the previous mark of 45.98 seconds in 1988.
Young’s run bettered Whittle’s time by two hundredths of a second and what made his status as new Scottish Indoor record holder - which he lowered again the following week, this time by 0.3 seconds - was that his predecessor was quite so pleased to see his name expunged from the record books.
“My mum shared the message Brian posted on social media, so it was really nice to see it,” says Young.
“The fact that he was so happy for me to break his record, especially with how long it had been standing, was nice. And breaking that gives me motivation to go for more.”
Young’s next target, or one of them at least, is getting his hands on the Scottish outdoor 400m record. And there would, surely, be no better place to do it than on home soil at the Commonwealth Games.
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Young is no stranger to the international stage having run for GB at the European Team Games in 2023 and the World Relays the following year. However, he is in little doubt that the Commonwealth Games tops then all in terms of a carer highlight.
“To be honest, this Commonwealth Games is right up at the top for me,” he says.
"The fact that it's a home Games means I think it's going to be the best experience for me. I've been really fortunate to be part of GB teams and Scotland teams in the past and I've travelled to a lot of nice countries, but the fact this is going to be at home is really cool.”
Much of Young’s improvement has come since he relocated State-side to study and train at the University of New Mexico. Over the past few years, he’s shaved a considerable chunk of time off his 400m personal best and given the success his 5000 mile move has yielded, he has few regrets about upping sticks. This doesn’t mean the transition has been entirely seamless, though.
“It's been a really cool experience in America,’ he says.
“Before I went out, I was on edge because I would be moving so far away from home. And I really didn't know what it was going to be like as a whole, as well as for my athletics.
But moving out there has been one of the best decisions I've made and in athletics’ terms, it's been really good for me. The facilities, the people I've met and everything - it’s been such a cool experience.
“My Scottish accent has made things a bit tougher for me, though, because, a lot of the time in America, people struggle to understand what I'm saying. If I'm at a restaurant trying to order, it can be tricky and I'll have to say things three times before I have to suggest I just type it on my phone.”
In addition to the 400m, in which Englishman and Olympic silver medallist, Matt Hudson-Smith, is favourite for gold, Young will also race the 4x400m mixed relay and while he’s reluctant to make too many predictions about winning medals, there’s another record he has in his sights and this time, it’s David Jenkins’ 51-year-old Scottish outdoor 400m mark.
“In Glasgow, I want to do as best I can individually and also for the team,” he says.
“I really want to aim for the 400m national record as well. It's something I thought was really doable and it's the main goal that we set going into this season, so to be able to do that in front of a home crowd would be really cool.”
