All good things must come to an end and although I’m certainly premature in anticipating the demise of this current golden generation of Scottish athletes, it’s hard to shake the sense that we’re closer to the end of this era than the beginning.
This golden generation has consisted of a remarkably large number of candidates given its pool from which to pick is a country with a population of only 5.5 million, and which is utterly dominated by football.
World champions, Olympic medallists, European and Commonwealth champions as well as Scottish, British and European record holders make up this collective of athletes who have changed the face of athletics within Scotland.
For a decade, there’s been not merely the hope that one or two would make the GB team but rather there’s been the expectation that Scottish athletes will be at the major championships, and they will win medals.
This expectation has been entirely justified; Josh Kerr, Laura Muir and Jake Wightman have led the charge of a group of athletes who have put Scotland on the map in international athletics' terms.
Muir has had the greatest longevity; having been on the global stage for over a decade, she’s amassed 14 major championship medals including, most notably, Olympic silver and world bronze in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
On the men’s side, Kerr and Wightman have, between them, produced some of the outstanding performances from Scottish sportspeople this decade.
Both are world 1500m champions in what is perhaps the strongest-ever era for the event. Kerr also has Olympic silver and bronze in his locker while Wightman has four European and Commonwealth medals to his name.
This trio, in particular, is astonishing not only in terms of the standard of their best-ever performances but also in their consistency over such a prolonged period.
What’s also been remarkable for what’s dubbed a “minority sport” within Scotland is that it’s not only this trio who have achieved notable global results over the past decade.
Neil Gourley, Eilish McColgan and Jemma Reekie have also won major championship medals and set Scottish, British and European records between them and in para-athletics, Sammi Kinghorn heads a pack that includes numerous Paralympic and para world champions.
When watching the UK Athletics Championships last week, though, it was difficult to not let my thoughts wander to how this golden generation could possibly be followed.
There’s still time, with this current crop by no means finished just yet.
Muir and Wightman may be in their 30s but with the former having set her 1500m personal best just last year and Wightman desperate to make up for missing several seasons following his world championship win, both possess the potential to have at least another couple of good seasons.
And Kerr, at 27 years old, still has potentially two Olympic cycles in him. All three retain ambitions to add further to their medal tallies before they hang up their spikes for good.
It can’t be ignored, however, that this cohort will, at some point, retire and so, what then?
How can this golden generation be followed?
Firstly, it’s probably wise to point out that it’d be overly-optimistic to think we’ll see another generation with similar strength-in-depth to this group any time soon.
To have half a dozen truly world class athletes all competing on the world stage simultaneously from a country this size, and which doesn’t consider athletics to be one of its mainstream sports, is a delightful rarity rather than the norm.
But what would be hugely disappointing would be if this generation becomes a one-off high, with the next wave of Scottish athletes not able to get close to their achievements.
So, what optimism should we have about how Scottish athletics will look after this current generation depart the scene?
Last weekend’s UK Athletics Championships are as good a barometer as any about what lies ahead for Scottish track and field.
The most notable result last weekend, and one of the biggest upsets in years at the national championships, was the victory of Sarah Calvert in the women’s 1500m final.
The 24-year-old’s win, which was hailed the ‘run of her life’ and saw her defeat none other than Muir, has catapulted her into the spotlight in a way few expected pre-championships.
Calvert’s personal best time for the 1500m is still well short of what could be considered world class - her best, set this season, is 4 minutes 8.14 seconds while Muir’s best, set in 2024, is 15 seconds faster - but given Calvert has never been a full-time athlete, her scope for improvement remains sizeable.
It should also be noted that with Erin Wallace fourth in that British 1500m final, Scottish athletes occupied three of the top four spots.
Gourley won yet another British 1500m title last weekend, with the late withdrawal due to illness of Wightman the latest setback in the Edinburgh man’s career.
There was, encouragingly, a wider-than-expected spread of Scottish medallists at the national championships.
In addition to Calvert, there were several lesser-known athletes who excelled; Alessandro Schenini won gold in the long jump, Nick Percy and Kirsty Law both won silver in the discus (although neither could be classed as up-and-coming athletes) and Silver Nwabuzor and Bera Ajala both won bronze in the triple jump. And in the para events, Kyle Brotherton, Steven Bryce and Rebecca Scott all medalled.
Added to this, there’s Megan Keith, who withdrew from the 5000m at the UK Championships but has already claimed the British 10,000m title this season.
It would, of course, be foolish to base too may predictions on one weekend of action but these two days last week certainly gave reason to be hopeful, particularly given this weekend’s success took Scottish athletes’ tally to 57 medals at the UK Championships in the past five years, indicating it’s far more than just the headline names who are achieving success.
Added to the senior results, at the recent European Under-23 Championships, 400m runners Brodie Young and Rebecca Grieve both got onto the podium while in this weekend’s European Under-20 Championships, five Scots are in the GB team. Plus, with European under-20 half-marathon record holder, Natasha Phillips, on the road, there’s certainly reason to be cautiously optimistic.
Those tasked with following in the footsteps of this current golden generation will, I would guess, struggle to scale quite the same heights.
For example, to expect like-for-like replacements for the true world-class talents of Kerr, Wightman and Gourley in men’s middle-distance running is wildly and unrealistically hopeful.
And so while the next decade of Scottish athletics may not be quite able to replicate the astonishing success we’ve seen over the past decade, that says far more about what Scottish athletes have achieved in this sport in recent years than any slight on what’s coming through.
Scottish athletics is, I think, going to be alright when Kerr, Muir, Wightman et al exit the stage.
