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| Human Interest | |
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General Interest | |
| Other information | TOKYO RETHINK After giving birth in January 2020, she was initially only targeting a place on the British women's 4x400m relay team at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. However, after the Games were postponed by a year, she said she would push to also compete in the 400m hurdles at the Games. "Now that we've been postponed, it gives me a lot more time. Maybe I can come back and be a part of the 400m hurdles, which is the event I love. It's probably more of a motivation now. Initially, my target was to get back and try to be a member of that relay team, but I was under no illusion that I would be able to get into the shape I normally would be in. So I've gone from potentially scraping into the squad to maybe now going there as a strong member of the team and also as an individual athlete as well. It is going to be tough but it's given me a boost because I know I have more of a chance of making an impact at my third Olympic Games." (bbc.co.uk, 14 Jul 2020; thetimes.co.uk, 09 Jul 2020; heraldscotland.com, 17 Oct 2020) MOTHERHOOD She says that becoming a mother to son Campbell has had a positive effect on her mindset and motivation. "A baby just puts everything in perspective. I've always been individual and independent and very focused on athletics but now somebody depends on me and that has totally changed my way of thinking. It's all for the better. Now that I've got Campbell there is also a factor of wanting to be able to show him what it is I do, what mummy does as a job sort of thing." (bbc.co.uk, 14 Jul 2020; thetimes.co.uk, 09 Jul 2020) HUSBAND, COACH AND THERAPIST As well as serving as her coach, her husband Brian is her soft tissue massage therapist, which she says helped her recover after she gave birth in 2020. "I'm fortunate because my husband is my coach as well as being a soft tissue therapist, so we have managed it all well. On the track and in training Brian and I have a coach-athlete relationship but, when we're together at home, we've tried to strike a deal not to talk about athletics. Of course, we inevitably end up chatting about the sport." (bbc.co.uk, 14 Jul 2020; dailyrecord.co.uk, 30 Nov 2017) OTHER ACTIVITIES She has served on the board of directors of Scottish Athletics as a non-executive director. "I am really keen to act as a voice for athletes and I am hoping I can really contribute and help guide the sport in Scotland." (scottishathletics.org.uk, 29 Sep 2018, 30 Sep 2018) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Family | Husband Brian, son Campbell [2020] |
| Other names | Eilidh Child |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Supporting Scottish football club Heart of Midlothian. (Instagram profile, 21 Dec 2020) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | English |
| Residence | Crook of Devon, SCO |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Pitreavie AAC: Dunfermline, SCO |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Education, Physical Education - University of Edinburgh: Scotland |
General Interest | |
| Other sports | She was a Scottish junior swimming champion in the 50m butterfly. (The Glasgow Herald, 19 Jun 2010) |
| Famous relatives | Her mother Jill Baxter represented Scotland in swimming. (podium.ac.uk, 15 May 2012; The Glasgow Herald, 19 Jun 2010) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | She was encouraged to go to Pitreavie Amateur Athletic Club in Dunfermline, Scotland, by her sister Iona, who was also a promising junior athlete. |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | British track cyclist Chris Hoy. (teamscotland.scot, 01 Apr 2018) |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (bbc.co.uk, 14 Jul 2020) |
| Awards and honours | She was the flag bearer for Scotland at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. (teamscotland.scot, 01 Apr 2018) In 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014 she received the Scottish Athlete of the Year award from Scottish Athletics. (iomtoday.co.im, 16 Feb 2010; bbc.co.uk, 03 Dec 2014; scottishathletics.org.uk, 25 Nov 2014) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Brian Doyle [personal, husband], IRL |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She took up athletics at age nine. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |