Fife’s Jack Lawrie would have been delighted with being the fourth fastest junior 400m hurdler in Europe at the start of this year.
So it is a sign of his progression that the teenager was left devastated at missing out on a European Junior Championships medal at the weekend.
Lawrie broke his personal best three times in June and was full of confidence heading into Sunday’s Euro final after winning his heat and finishing second in his semi-final.
But the 19-year-old, who was struggling with a niggle in the final, ended up finishing more than a second-and-a-half behind the eventual winner in Sweden and was 0.35 seconds from a bronze medal as he crossed the line in 52.09 seconds.
Lawrie said: “Don’t get me wrong, being fourth in Europe for my age group is good but in the meets leading up to this and in the couple of days beforehand, I thought I could have medalled so getting fourth was hard to take.
“Even a few days afterwards I am still gutted about it but I will take fourth as a positive because if you had offered me that at the start of the season then I would never have believed you so I am pleased on reflection.
“Looking back at the last two years, I have put in a lot of hard work and everything I have done has helped me finish fourth in Europe so I am pleased.”
Lawrie’s performances are even more impressive when you consider he works 12-hour shifts as a process technician at an ethanol plant alongside his training.
The former Beath High School pupil has moved up to second in the all-time records for Scottish 400m hurdlers but has a relaxed approach when it comes to the year coming up.
“I am really pleased with my season as a whole. I did not expect to run this fast at the start of the year and it has helped keep me going,” Lawrie added.
“I thought the qualifying time for the European Junior Championships was really difficult but it pushed me on and in the end I ran a time which was the second fastest of all time for juniors in Scotland.
“For the rest of this season I just want to enjoy my last couple of races and see what I can produce.
“As far as next year is concerned, again I want to enjoy my races because there are not a lot of major meets apart from the Olympics and I am not at that level yet so I want to work hard over the next two years and see where it takes me. I am looking forward to seeing how the Under-23s take shape in two years time.”
Lawrie is supported by SSE’s Next Generation programme, partnered by SportsAid. His progress can be followed on Twitter at @SSENextGen