Laura Muir explains Commonwealth Games switch as Josh Kerr and Eilish McColgan join a 39-strong team

Team Scotland has announced a 39-strong athletics team to compete at the Games which includes the nation’s biggest track and field stars as well as a clutch of promising talent.

Joining Muir in the squad are Josh Kerr, an Olympic silver medallist in Paris two years ago, and Eilish McColgan, the star of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

McColgan won gold in the 10,000m in Birmingham and will defend her title in Glasgow. She also won silver in the 5000m in 2022 but, having made the switch to the marathon in recent seasons, will not run the shorter distance this time.

Instead, it will be Muir and Megan Keith who carry Scottish hopes across 12 and a half laps at Scotstoun Stadium. For Muir, it’s a significant change in distance and one she hopes will pay off in the long term.

Hopefully switch will make me stronger

She won gold in the 1500m and bronze in the 800m at Birmingham 2022 but has opted out of the Commonwealth Mile which is replacing the 1500m at Glasgow 2026.

“I'm excited and nervous at the same time,” said Muir. “You know, running the 5K, it's a hard event. It's very different [to 1500m & 800m]. But I thought, I'll give myself a bit of a challenge, try something a bit new, try and get me a bit stronger over that endurance work. Hopefully that will help my 1500.”

At 33 and with a vast collection of major championship medals, including Olympic silver, Muir returns for a second crack at a home Games, having competed when Glasgow last hosted the Commonwealths in 2014.

“It's a very different experience now, I'm coming in as a Commonwealth champion, I've got those medals,” she said. “Coming back to Scotland for the second time and I feel like this championship, I'm really excited for it. I'm just wanting to really enjoy it but it'll be a big learning experience for me as well.

One eye on the future

“We're looking at my future in the sport these next few years. I've got a world championship next year, Olympics in 2028 and the way the 1500 is being run now, you have to run so fast. It's such a strong event.

“So we're just looking at this as kind of a little bit of an experiment year: work on a few new things in training, work on that endurance capacity. And it just fitted quite well to try and do the 5K. Something a little bit different.”

Muir will be joined in the 5000m by Inverness athlete Keith, who will also compete in the 10,000m where she won bronze in the European Championships in Rome two years ago.

The Commonwealth Mile will see three Scottish men’s World Championship medallists compete, with Kerr accompanied by Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley. The women’s contingent is also strong, with another world medallist, Jemma Reekie, in the team alongside British champion Sarah Calvert and Erin Wallace.

Hammer thrower Chris Bennett and pole vaulter Jax Thoirs, both veterans of Glasgow 2014, return after spells away from the sport. And there are a number of Commonwealth Games debutants in the squad, including Rebecca Grieve and Bradley Francis, who are in the mixed 4x400m relay squad alongside individual 400m runners Brodie Young - also a first-timer - and Nicole Yeargin.

Georgina Adam is included in both the mixed 4x400m and women’s 4x100m relay squads. Alisha Rees, Lucy Fraser and Kaya Slater will join her in the latter, alongside individual 200m runner Alyson Bell.

Team Scotland Athletics Squad

Georgina Adam – 4x100m, Alyson Bell – 200m / 4x100m, Christopher Bennett - Hammer, Steven Bryce – T20 1500m, Andrew Butchart – 5000m / 10,000m, Sarah Calvert - Mile, Sean Frame – T53/54 1500m, Bradley Francis – Mixed 4x400m, Lucy Fraser – 4x100m, Neil Gourley - Mile, Rebecca Grieve – Mixed 4x400m, Megan Keith – 5,000m / 10,000m, Josh Kerr - Mile, Stephen Mackenzie – Long Jump, Angela McAuslan-Kelly - Hammer, Eilish McColgan – 10,000m, Joel McFarlane - Decathlon, Owen Miller – T20 1500m, Laura Muir – 5,000m, Callum Newby - Decathlon, Nick Percy - Discus, Jamie Phillips – 800m, Jemma Reekie – 800m / Mile, Alisha Rees – 4x100m, Joanna Robertson - T53/54 1500m, Allie Routledge - Heptathlon, Ben Sandilands – T20 1500m, Mena Scatchard – 800m, Kaya Slater – 4x100m, Steven Stone – T20 Long Jump, Sarah Tait – 3,000m Steeplechase, Jax Thoirs – Pole Vault, Alexander Thomson – T37/38 100m, Eloise Walker – 5,000m, Erin Wallace – 800m / Mile, Jake Wightman - Mile, Melanie Woods - T53/54 400m / 1500m, Nicole Yeargin – 400m / Mixed 4x400m, Brodie Young – 400m / Mixed 4x400m.