Scottish Athlete Eilidh Doyle has announced her retirement from competitive athletics. <\/p>\n
Scotland’s most decorated track & field athlete represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n
Doyle is also the Scottish record holder for the 400 metres hurdles with 54.09 sec and the indoor 400 metres with 51.45 sec. She is the 2014 European Champion and a three-time Commonwealth silver medalist (2010, 2014 and 2018) in the 400 metres hurdles. Her other relay honours include World Championship silver medals in 2013 and 2017, and the bronze medal in 2015. She was also a world and European indoor medalist in the 400 metres. <\/p>\n
BBC Scotland Report: “Olympic medallist Eilidh Doyle says she no longer had the “fire in my belly” to continue on to this summer’s Tokyo games after retiring at the age of 34.<\/p>\n
The Scot gave birth to her first child, son Campbell, in January 2020 and planned to return to the track.<\/p>\n
However, she has chosen to “step away happy in the knowledge that this is the right time for me to go”.<\/p>\n
“That desire to go and compete isn’t there anymore,” Doyle told BBC Scotland.<\/p>\n
“It would’ve been brilliant to finish off at another Olympics. But realistically I wouldn’t have done myself justice because my head is just not quite in it the way it should be.<\/p>\n
“It was a bit of a mixture of things. The world we live in now, and also being a mum. My mindset has been different and that drive I had when I was a bit younger, is slowly disappearing.”<\/p>\n
Doyle’s honours include a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay at Rio 2016 and becoming European 400m hurdles champion in 2014.”<\/p>\n
BBC Scotland Full Report:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/athletics\/57323904<\/a><\/p>\n