She may have missed out on a medal but American runner Nicole Yeargin’s Olympic performance is inspiring young athletes in Dunfermline.
Despite being born and bred in California, 23-year-old Nicole competed for Team GB because her mum Lynn is from the Fife town – and her grandparents still live there.
And she was part of the women’s 4x400m relay team that came fifth in Saturday afternoon’s final in Tokyo.
The student joined Dunfermline’s Pitreavie Athletics Club in June to aid her qualification for the 2020 Olympics.
While members there have yet to meet her, chairman Paul Allan says up-and-coming runners already see her as a role model.
“It’s a big boost for us having somebody competing at that level,” he said.
“The kids are all really excited when they see her winning and they’re thinking ‘can I be that person’?
“That’s the initial reaction we’re getting and we’re hoping to build on that.”
📅Saturday 7th August
⏰1:30pm (BST)
🏁 4x400m relay finalThe Olympic final awaits after the GB quartet of @EmilyDiamond11, @_ZoeyClark, @yourfitnic & @Laviai ran an SB 3:23.99 to qualify from their semi-final 🙌#Tokyo2020 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/EedQrh43WU
— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) August 5, 2021
Nicole is a 400m runner but, despite high hopes of a medal place in the individual event, she was disqualified after her first heat when her spikes twice touched the white line between lanes.
However, she was still selected for the women’s relay and was instrumental in the team’s semi-final success.
While Team GB didn’t medal in Saturday’s final, she is still regarded as an inspirational runner.
“Nicole is a huge talent and this is her first major championship outside America.” said Paul.
“She’s half Scottish and she wanted to run for Scotland and the UK.
“You have to be a member of a club so it made complete sense that she joined a club in our area. Pitreavie is the biggest club in Dunfermline.
“We weren’t exactly going to turn her away.”
Pitreavie’s past Olympic success
The club is no stranger to success as former Olympic hurdler Eilidh Doyle is also a member of Pitreavie AC.
She retired this year after competing for Team GB at the London Olympics in 2012 and winning bronze in Rio in 2016.
“With Eilidh just retiring it’s nice to have potentially the next big thing joining the club,” Paul said.
“We hope when she’s back in the UK we’ll be able to get her here to meet the youngsters.”
Nicole was one of four sportswomen representing Fife at Tokyo 2020.
Last weekend Kirkcaldy-born swimmer Kathleen Dawson struck gold in the medley relay, while Cairneyhill woman Katie Reid got to the quarter finals in her canoeing event.
Caroline Weir, who started her football career with Dunfermline’s Elgin Star FC, also represented Team GB.
Elsewhere, Dundee’s Laura Muir won silver in the women’s 1,500m final on Friday, while Eilish McColgan competed in the 10,000m final on Saturday.