Lynsey Sharp: I will relish Commonwealth Games atmosphere

Lynsey Sharp plans to soak up every second of her stint Down Under '“ and bring her second Commonwealth Games medal back to the Capital.
Lynsey SharpLynsey Sharp
Lynsey Sharp

The 27-year-old, below, had her first Australian tune-up ahead of Gold Coast 2018 when finishing fourth in the 800 metres at yesterday’s Queensland Classic in Brisbane.

But it’s now into the final countdown towards the Games for the Olympic finalist who became a household name four years ago in Glasgow when she managed to claim 800m silver despite spending the previous night in a hospital bed.

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“I don’t think anything will ever top Glasgow in terms of where it was and the story behind it,” Sharp said.

“I have been looking forward to going back to Australia for so long. And this time it seems a lot more relaxed as well which makes it a lot more fun. I miss my little call room buddy, Melissa Bishop. She is pregnant. But I have all my mates, all my friends.”

Sharp was one of a large Edinburgh AC contingent easing off the jet lag in Brisbane yesterday with Chris O’Hare returning from injury to finish sixth in the 800m and Allan Smith also placing sixth in the high jump, while heptathlon hope Holly McArthur was eighth in both the long jump and 100m hurdles.

There shall be high medal hopes for so many of the Scots when the athletics competition kicks off in ten days with Pitreavie’s Eilidh Doyle also favourite to be named as the team’s flagbearer this week.

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“It looks really strong,” Sharp said. “On the back of London last year, Scots made up such a large part of the British team. Obviously I see Eilidh as the team captain, she is a great person to have on the team – so mature in the way she races.”

After the Games, where she’ll also be a part of the 4x400 relay squad, the Scottish 800m record holder plans to return to her new base in California where her coach Terrence Mahon is based. And then she’ll target winning her second European Championship gold in August, six years after her first.

“I missed the last Europeans with it being Rio Olympic year but I have great memories from 2012,” she added. “It would mean a lot for me to get the European title.”

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