'Bittersweet' bronze: Beth Dobbin explains why shine was taken off 4x400m relay medal for Scotland at Commonwealth Games

It is certainly not how they would have wanted to do it, but for the first time in 40 years, Scotland came away with a medal from the women’s 4x400m relay.

That it came at the expense of England, initially awarded the gold before disqualification for stepping out of their lane, made it somewhat bittersweet.

The intense rivalry that exists in some team sports is not quite as prominent in athletics, where the runners wear the same GB vest for much of the year.

So, while there was elation at taking the bronze medal, behind Canada and Jamaica, the quartet of Beth Dobbin, Zoey Clark, Jill Cherry, and Nicole Yeargin, admitted that the manner was far from ideal.

Bronze medalists Zoey Clark, Beth Dobbin, Jill Cherry and Nicole Yeargin of Scotland pose during the medal ceremony for the 4 x 400m relay final. Picture: Tom Dulat/Getty

Dobbin, a member of Edinburgh Athletic Club, said: “It was bittersweet because we’re on the team with the England girls when we represent Great Britain. It’s quite difficult because we want to see them do well, but for us, it was special because it’s a medal for Team Scotland.

“But it’s bittersweet because the English girls ran well so it’s hard to see them not get a medal. But then we’re obviously pleased for ourselves because we ran well.”

The time of 3:30.15 was within a second of the Scottish record set four years ago. On that occasion, it was only good enough for sixth, but this time around they made it onto the podium.

Clark is the only athlete who remains from the team in 2018 and was overwhelmed by the support at Alexander Stadium.

She said: “It was such a great experience. The whole Championships has been done so well. They have sold out every single session, it seems. The atmosphere has been amazing, we’ve seen so many Scottish flags, but even the English fans have been cheering us on and we’ve had a great reception so I’ve thoroughly my whole time here.”

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