ANGER will fuel Vikki McPherson's bid for a third successive British
world cross-country selection this weekend, but at least her lucky omen
is still in place -- being dismissed or undervalued by the English
sporting media.
The City of Glasgow runner passed up the defence of her Scottish title
at Irvine last weekend to conserve energies for Saturday's trial at
Alnwick, and recent form suggests that, though Paula Radcliffe is the
hot favourite, McPherson should win a place in the squad for Budapest
next month.
But yet again, Britain's only specialist weekly athletics publication
has damned the Scot with faint praise and inaccuracy.
''Prior to the world trials of the past two years, I've been written
off -- which certainly helped spur me to gain selection,'' she said
yesterday.
This week, the magazine refers to McPherson as having been given ''the
10,000 metres place vacated by the injured Liz McColgan at the Stuttgart
World Championships'' only because she ''ran a B standard qualifying
time.''
Fact: McPherson won the AAA title last year, and the winner, subject
to achieving the qualifying standard, was guaranteed a Stuttgart place.
Fact: When McPherson finished fourth at the World Student Games in
Buffalo, she was eight seconds inside the A qualifying time. No other UK
athlete achieved this.
Fact: The City of Glasgow woman was therefore in the Stuttgart team on
merit, and would have gone even had McColgan also been fit.
McPherson, an accountant with Arthur Andersen, does not care if media
appreciation of her fails to add up. ''You get no recognition from the
English press unless you live in England, but that only makes me more
determined,'' she said.
Despite having lost training time with three colds over the winter,
McPherson was eighth in her last outing, the Tourcoing WorldCross race a
week past Sunday. ''That's two places and one second better than last
year, so I know I am back in good shape.''
The proximity of the Scottish championships to the most important UK
race of the year has brought a torrent of criticism. Of the five senior
women named, only one, West champion Dr Audrey Sym, planned to do both.
In the event she dropped out at Irvine with a hip injury, and is now an
unlikely starter, meaning promotion to the team for bronze medallist
Marlene Gemmell. Fourth-placed Lindsay Cairns had been added when the
team was announced yesterday after marathon runners Lynn Harding and
Alison Rose rejected Alnwick, leaving Zurich's Laura Adam as the only
other original female selection.
Of the six men initially chosen (before last Sunday's race) only
Robert Quinn rested up last Sunday, and both the national champion,
Chris Robison, and runner-up, Tom Murray, have declined selection.
Robison, a lieutenant commander in the Navy, has promised to turn out
in the Combined Services championships tomorrow. But Alan Puckrin, a
cold victim who decided to run only last Sunday morning, finishing
fourth, has been named for Alnwick.
The absence of Robison and Murray means that reserves Alaister Russell
and Graham Wight, who finished ahead of Terry Mitchell and Dave Cavers
(named for the team), will now run at the Northumberland event. Junior
teams as selected:
Women -- Emma Gorman, Kirsty Gormley, Hayley Parkinson. Men -- Alan
Milligan, Des Roache, Tom Winters, Brian Robinson.
* THE following Scots have been promoted to the British junior squad
from which UK teams will be chosen this year:
Grant Adams (Ayr Seaforth, 110, hurdles), Kevin Daley (Edinburgh AC,
steeplechase), Alistair Donaldson (Pitreavie, 800m), Ian Mackie
(Pitreavie, 100m), Barry Middleton (Aberdeen, 400m); Pamela Anderson
(triple jump) Theresa Crosbie (110m hurdles) Navdeep Dhaliwal (shot,
discus), Julie Robin (discus, all City of Glasgow), Lisa Brown
(Lochgelly, high jump), and Helen McReadie (Edinburgh Woollen Mill,
hammer).
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