Neil tops the podium in Birmingham last week – to make it eight times in the last nine a Scot has won gold (photo Getty Images for British Athletics)
Scottish gold double as Sarah and Neil seize 1500m titles in Birmingham
By Peter Jardine, Head of Communications
When Chris O’Hare picked up a bronze medal in the Men’s 1500m at the UK Champs in the summer of 2012, the Scot was hugely disappointed to miss automatic selection for the London Olympics which followed.
A year later he took that frustration onto the track and won gold to make sure of his place at the 2013 World Champs in Moscow.
This correspondent recalls watching races in those Champs on a TV screen at the Age Group Champs in Aberdeen – with Laura Muir incidentally making her first appearance (of six, so far) at the World Champs.
But the UK Champs are our primary focus here and, clearly, back in 2012 and 2013 there was no real hint that the spark ignited by Chris in the men’s 1500m was to become the athletics equivalent of a forest fire raging for the next decade or more.
Neil Gourley on top of the podium for 2025 should give you a further clue on what we are looking at here.
Chris O’Hare wins the UK title in 2017 with Jake Wightman taking silver (photo Getty Images for British Athletics)
Neil’s fourth gold overall was his seventh in the Men’s 1500m outdoors.
And when we start to add other Scots, what a picture emerges: we make it 23 medals since 2012.
Neil Gourley: Seven medals – four gold, two silver, one bronze
Chris O’Hare: Six medals – three gold, two silver, one bronze
Jake Wightman: Six medals – one gold, two silver, three bronze
Josh Kerr: Four medals – one gold, two silver, one bronze
Just to clarify, this is outdoor UK Champs medals only and does not feature UK Indoor Champs. There was a Covid year with the fields somewhat affected, too (Neil won silver that year; Jake raced the 800m).
George Mills won gold in the Covid-hit Champs of September 2020 and that it is now the only time in nine years that a Scot has not topped the podium.
It really is a remarkable record and in a single event, too.
Across that 13-year period, 42 medals were available – 23 made the hands of just four Scottish athletes. Truly stunning success.
Neil wins his first gold at the Alexander Stadium in 2019 with Jake and Josh pictured, too (photo Getty Images for British Athletics)
Jake wins gold in Manchester in 2022 with Neil and Josh on podium, too (photo Getty Images for British Athletics)
A couple of finish line photos have three or four of the quartet straining for the top positions and those images capture the power of Scottish 1500m running in this era.
It almost felt like that was being repeated when the picture emerged of the Women’s 1500m final last week with Sarah Calvert heading Laura Muir for gold and Erin Wallace so close to the podium in fourth.
Four-times champion Neil has admitted he’s pleasantly surprised at his own record at the UK Champs.
‘When I first did well at UK Champs and made the World Champs team I didn’t think then I would be high in the selection conversations for six years,’ said the candid Giffnock North AC athlete, who won silver at the World Indoors earlier this year.
‘I have to be proud of my consistency in that sense.
‘It is not easy – year after year – to make the GB and Ni team in the Men’s 1500m. One look at the names of the athletes in the hunt would tell you that. I think it is getting tougher and the levels are high.
‘So I am really happy to be winning medals here and making teams for global champs.
‘I hope one day I will look back on how I’ve done in UK Champs with a real sense of pride.
‘At the time, and the nature of it, you are always thinking about selection and the next international championships – be that Worlds or Olympics or Europeans. The selection race element dominates your thoughts. I would never take it for granted, though.
‘I’ve won the last three and that feels like quite something in this era. It is a bit surreal to have four outdoor golds overall and indoor medals, too. I didn’t anticipate that longevity with the other athletes in the event all trying to do their thing.’
If Chris O’Hare was the path-finder, then Neil, Josh and Jake can certainly be said to have accepted the baton.
For a spell, they would have made quite a 4 x 1500m team . . .
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Chris O’Hare, Jake Wightman, Josh Kerr, Neil Gourley, UK Champs