EXCLUSIVE: Eilish McColgan is battling back from injury, tragedy and a bizarre sponsorship row as she hopes to make her Olympic dream a reality in Paris… a year after Commonwealth glory

It had been a wonderful break. After months of injury misery, Eilish McColgan enjoyed six weeks in the sun in Qatar, a chance to rehabilitate her knee but also to reunite with her mother Liz, who lives in Doha.

“It was the longest time I’ve spent with my mother since I was a kid,” the Dundee distance runner told Mail Sport. ‘Most of the time I just bounce from place to place, so it was nice to slow down, spend time together and have a bit more normality. We just couldn’t have imagined that the trip would end so sadly.’

It was on the morning of November 9 when tragedy struck, as John Nuttall – Liz’s husband and Eilish’s stepfather – died of a heart attack. The former British 5,000 meter runner, who competed in the 1996 Olympics and ran an athletics club in Doha with his wife, was only 56 years old.

“It just reinforces taking each day as it comes, rather than worrying about the future,” says McColgan, who turned 33 yesterday. ‘Try to spend as much time as possible with loved ones.’

That’s what McColgan has been doing for two weeks: she is extending her stay in Qatar to support her grieving mother.

McColgan triumphed in the 10,000 meters at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham

But the long-distance runner has had to put some of her preparations on hold this year after suffering a knee injury that ruled out the London Marathon.

“She is a strong individual, she has been through a lot and I know she will remain strong,” said McColgan, who returned to Britain this week for Nuttall’s funeral in Preston on Friday. ‘She gave birth to me in 1990 but was dropped by her sponsors, but less than a year later she became world champion. It just amazes me. I’m very proud of her.’

That pride is reflected in a new BBC documentary, Eilish McColgan: Running in the Family, which airs next week. The highlight of the film – and of her career to date – is of course McColgan’s resounding victory in the 10,000 meters at last year’s Commonwealth Games.

In front of a packed house in Birmingham, she raced past Kenyan Irene Cheptai through the house to claim the title her mother had won in 1986 and 1990. “It still feels like it didn’t quite happen,” she says. “It’s weird to look back and hear and see the crowd going crazy.

‘Having 32,000 strangers cheering you on was something very special for me. It is a memory that will stay with me for a lifetime.’

McColgan went on to win 5,000 meters silver in Birmingham, then 10,000 meters silver and 5,000 meters bronze at the European Championships. “An absolute dream season,” she says.

This year started brilliantly, with Paula Radcliffe breaking her British record in the 10,000 meters in California and then her own national record in the half marathon in Berlin. But it ended terribly: a knee injury hampered plans to make her marathon debut in London – an event her mother won in 1996 – and ruled her out of the World Championships and the rest of the season.

“After breaking two British records I was in the shape of my life,” she says. ‘I wanted to come to London and break my mum’s personal record and Scottish record and qualify for the Olympics. It felt within reach, so it was frustrating not to make it to the starting line.”

In addition to suffering from injuries in the run-up to London, McColgan also had to deal with the organizers. She was told she could not compete if she wore the logo of her sponsor, Science in Sport, on her vest, as it was a rival to their official drinks partner, Lucozade. Seven months later, the dispute is still not resolved.

“There’s no change in their position,” McColgan said. ‘You have to have a sponsor who is not a clash with one of their sponsors and if they do think it is a clash, you cannot race with that on your vest.’

Regardless of any contractual disputes, McColgan is unlikely to race in the capital next April. After initially saying the marathon was Plan A for the Paris Olympics, her injury has forced her to change tactics.

“When I come back from the injury, I think it will be like the 10,000 meters in Paris and then on to the marathon, somewhere like Berlin or Chicago in the fall,” she says.

If fit, McColgan should be a medal contender at her fourth Games.

Her British 10,000m record of 30 minutes 0.86 seconds is almost a minute and a half faster than Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay’s gold medal-winning time at this summer’s World Championships.

“Ultimately I would like to end my career with an Olympic or world medal,” says McColgan. “If you had asked me five years ago I probably would have said it’s out of my reach, but year after year you start to see and believe it a little more.”

What also gives McColgan reason to believe is the inspiring comeback of her British teammate Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who returned from a ruptured Achilles tendon to win her second world heptathlon title in Budapest.

Speaking to Mail Sport, she claimed she wanted to end her career with a gold medal win at the Olympics

She has also faced a bizarre sponsorship row after being told she could not wear the logo of her sponsor, Science in Sport, following a conflict with another brand

“I got emotional looking at her,” McColgan says. ‘We had our first Olympics together in London and we have been to every Olympics together since then. I know all the injuries and ups and downs she has had.

‘It gives me a lot of confidence and a lot of inspiration to know that an injury is not the end of your entire career. You can still come back from them.”

So how would McColgan feel if she could bounce back from her rotten 2023 to earn a place on the podium in Paris in 2024?

“I think that would be a fairy tale,” she adds.

Eilish McColgan: Running in the Family can be seen on BBC iPlayer from Friday.