Eilish McColgan

McColgan won a silver medal in the 1500 meters at the Scottish Schools Championships in 2006, as well as a bronze at the International Under-17s Schools Championships. In the 1500 m, she took up a bronze medal at the 2008 Scottish Indoor Championships. McColgan was chosen to compete in the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in India. However, she sustained a serious knee injury that required over a year and a half to heal.

At the 2011 European Team Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, she made her senior Great Britain debut. She was initially chosen as a travelling reserve to handle a variety of events. However when she was given an opportunity to run in the 3000 m steeplechase, a race she had only done twice before, she ran a personal best and placed ninth. At the 2011 UK Indoor Championships, she finished fourth in the 1500 meters, but she took home the silver in the 5000 meters, which were held outside.

She ran a time of 9:38.45 to surpass the Olympic ‘A’ qualification mark in the 3000 meter steeplechase in a competition in Oslo, Norway in June 2012. McColgan won the British trials with a time of 9:56.90, securing her spot in the steeplechase at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the only sportsperson to complete the race in under ten minutes and the only British person to meet the “A” qualifying level. She competed for Great Britain in the women’s 3000 m steeplechase alongside compatriot Barbara Parker at the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, s he was unable to qualify for the final with her timing of 9:54.36.

Following a major foot injury sustained while competing in the steeplechase at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, McColgan shifted from the 3000m hurdles to the flat. She won the silver medal in the 5000-meter competition at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin. She took part in the 10,000 m competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, placing tenth with a time of 31:04.46. With a time of 14:48 in Dubai in February 2022, she broke Paula Radcliffe’s previous record of 14:51 for the 5 km road race in the United Kingdom.

McColgan placed 11th in the 5000 metres and 10th in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July after encountering some health issues just before the competition. At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on August 3, she claimed the gold medal in the 10,000-meter final, earning the first significant victory of her career. She beat her mother’s 32-year record with a winning time of 30:48:60, setting a new Games record. At the Big Half in London in September 2022, McColgan set a course record and tied for fourth place in the fastest women’s half marathon in British history with a time of 67 minutes and 35 seconds.

Eilish McColgan was born on November 25, 1990, in Dundee, Scotland to Liz and Peter McColgan. Liz and Peter were both athletes in the past. Liz, who is also known as Elizabeth Nuttell, is also the coach of Eilish. Besides this, she is a former 10,000 meters World Champion and Olympic silver medalist After divorcing Peter, she married John Nuttall who is also a former long-distance runner. As a result, McColgan is step-daughter of long-distance runner John Nuttall and step-sister of his son, para-athlete Luke Nuttall. Eilish is a member of Dundee’s Hawkhill Harriers Club. She attended the High School of Dundee and studied mathematics and accountancy at the University of Dundee and graduated in 2013. She currently lives in East Didsbury and be seen training around Manchester.