Athletics: Nuttall to miss season after moving to Canada

Scottish indoor high jump champion Emma Nuttall is away to Canada for a year to study and train at Trinity Western University in Vancouver, the well-appointed base of her coach Laurier Primeau, who quit as Scottish National coach at the beginning of the year and returned home.

The 19-year-old Edinburgh AC jumper, who was studying history at Strathclyde University, had made significant improvement under Primeau’s tutelage, beating by five centimetres her 2010 best to clear a Scottish Native record-equalling 1.83 metres in claiming the national indoor title at Kelvin Hall.

Though a knee injury hampered her progress during the outdoor season, when her best was a slightly disappointing 1.82m, Nuttall did finish third in the UK (senior) Championships and earned selection for the European Junior Championships in Tallinn last July.

Former Scottish record-holder and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Moira Maguire, who has also assisted Nuttall with her training, believes the elegant six-footer could break Jayne Barnetson’s long-standing Scottish record of 1.91m – if club rival Jayne Nisbet doesn’t get there first. “Emma has all the attributes, both physical and mental to do it, and if she continues to develop I see no reason why not,” said Maguire, who herself is still joint third on the Scottish All-Time list at 1.87m.