Kinross 400m hurdler Eilidh Child has qualified for the British team competing in this month's European Under 23 Championships in Lithuania after continuing her stunning season at Bedford last weekend.

Childs set a new PB, her fourth of a remarkable season so far, finishing two hundredths of a second behind England’s Perri Shakes-Drayton. 

Had she not hit the eighth and tenth hurdles (and she had led the race before the eighth) Child’s time would have been even faster than her 55.36 seconds.  Before the race her PB had been 55.46.

Her second place confirms her slot in the Lithuanian bound British under 23 team.  With Shakes-Drayton and Child ranked first and second on the European age-group rankings the pair have a genuine chance of winning two medals.

“The performance was the most important thing this week and Eilidh applied herself really well and ran magnificently,” said Aileen McGillivary, who works with Stuart Hogg as Eilidh’s coaching team.

Supporting Eilidh is the UK Athletics' World Class Plan which works in combination with the Tayside & Fife Institute of Sport.

"She has exceeded our expectations we set at the start of the season.  We always believed that she could compete at that level but it is the consistency of her performance that is absolutely fantastic."

Not only did Child secure the European Under 23 standard (57.40s), she also achieved the UKA ‘A’ standard of 55.50s for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in August...for an incredible third time.  McGillivary is keen to stress the focus is very much on the Europeans.

“Qualifying for the European under 23s has always been the priority for this season,” she said.  “We are looking to go back into training for the next 19 days before she competes again, refine a few things and get her ready for the Championships.”