SUCCESS IS IN THE GENES

IT’S OFTEN SAID THAT TO SUCCEED IN SPORT YOU NEED TO CHOOSE YOUR PARENTS CAREFULLY. BUT IS HAVING CHAMPIONS AS PARENTS A BLESSING OR A CURSE? ASKS

EILISH McCOLGAN

FROM A YOUNG age, I was engulfed in athletics. All I remember is growing up in an environment surrounded by two international athletes. My mum, Liz, was 1991 world champion at 10,000m and an Olympic silver medallist and dad, Peter, was Northern Ireland steeplechase record-holder, so I spent hours and hours of my early years trackside in a pram. To many people, it was a given that this would be my chosen sport and that, “gifted with the genetics”, that I was effectively born to run.

But, it’s not that straightforward. Speaking to contemporaries who are in a similar situation to me, I realise how being blessed with good genes can potentially be offset by other pressures that come with having parents who have reached the top level in sport.

Eilish McColgan in discussion with her mother, Liz, in 2003

PICTURES: MARK SHEARMAN

External pressures

In a lot of ways, having parents who have dealt with the ups and downs of competitive sport at any level is as much of a determinant as genes. If they can pass on what they have learned from life, then it can help with focus and direction. There was never any pressure for me to run, but in the final year of primary school, my PE teacher added my name to the cross-country team largely because I was a McColgan. After my race, I went back to the PE hall to retrieve my bag to find my mum was surrounded by a crowd of people getting autographs and taking pictures. I found the whole situation bizarre – it was the first indication I had that she was something special.