Olympian inspires pupils' personal bests
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Oyne Primary, near Inverurie, welcomed a special guest as Olympic and Commonwealth athlete Eilish McColgan visited to encourage pupils to achieve their 'personal bests'.
The Dundee-born runner gave a talk on her career so far, before taking pupils through a short session of dynamic warm-ups.
She also participated in a Q&A session before showing off her medal collection, which included her silver gong in the 5000m at last year's European Championship in Berlin.
Eilish is preparing for next year's Olympics in Tokyo as part of Team GB.
The appearance was organised by Active Schools Aberdeenshire and supported by Logie Country House through the 'Champions in Scotland' programme.
She met Logie's owners Tim and Stef Erbe, who have sponsored Oyne's extra-curricular programme which has seen a jogging club established at the school.
Eilish also had time to stop in by Inverurie Academy for a Q&A with S1 pupils, and were given coaching tips by the 29-year-old.
Active Schools Lead Coordinator for Central Aberdeenshire, Malcolm Grant, said the visit was inspiring for everyone involved.
“Across Scotland this month the sporting theme from sportscotland is 'Local Heroes' and Eilish ticked every box during her visits to Oyne Primary and Inverurie Academy,” he said.
“The focus on personal best resonates strongly across a broad range of school subjects, not just sport, but having Eilish presenting her thoughts on her own career and how she intends to continue to improve and progress, despite her already extensive achievements in athletics, ensured that all of the pupils went home with some extra inspiration and motivation to do the best that they can, whatever they choose to do in the future.”
