Guy Learmonth rips up Loughborough script to return north

Guy Learmonth reckons home is where the heart is but the Lasswade ace believes his decision to switch back north of the border is also where success will be spawned in 2017.

Guy Learmonth has returned to his roots

The 24-year-old kicks off his indoor season over 800 metres in Vienna today after quitting his long-time base in Loughborough and placing his trust in Berwick-based coach Henry Gray as he bids to leave the injuries that wrecked his Olympic hopes behind him. And with the initial target of making the British team for March’s European indoor championships in his sights, the 2015 finalist reckons he’s already taken major strides forward.

“I can say I feel great,” Learmonth said. “I’ve gone back to a lot of my old training, and we’ve improved or changed a ton of other things. There were lots of areas that I needed to work on. I’m still a work in progress but I hope to see some big results indoors and of course outdoors this year.”

Lynsey Sharp and Jake Wightman have headed Stateside for tonight’s New Balance Grand Prix in Boston – part of the IAAF Indoor Tour that also includes next month’s Muller Grand Prix in Birmingham.

Sharp kicks off her season by facing world and European champion Marina Arzamasova over 800m while her Edinburgh AC club-mate meets Olympic gold medallist Matt Centrowitz in the mile.

“It will be interesting to go up against him,” Wightman said. “He’s going to feel it differently now being an Olympic champion.”

Elsewhere, another Edinburgh AC prospect, Holly McArthur, competes for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Combined Events International in Prague.