Inverness athlete is ready for dream debut for Great Britain at World Athletics Championships in Budapest
MEGAN Keith says competing at the World Athletics Championships is a dream that she never thought would become a reality so early in her career.
The Inverness Harriers life member will compete for Great Britain in the 5000 metres heats in Budapest as she looks to find out where she stands amongst the best in the world.
Keith (21) is set to run in the heats at 10:10am on Wednesday morning, where she will look to qualify for the final which takes place on Saturday night.
She has enjoyed a meteoric rise in international athletics during 2023, from becoming European Under-23 5000 metres champion to meeting the World Championship qualifying time at the Diamond League in London.
Four years ago, Keith won the River Ness 10k in Inverness and had won a gold medal at the Junior European Orienteering Championship.
Now she is competing in the World Championship against the best athletes in the world, something she never thought she would get the chance to do so quickly.
“That is the bit that I am still getting to grips with,” she said.
“Sub-consciously I had put competing in a global senior race as a goal for my whole career, but it wasn’t on the plan or agenda for it to happen this year – and not for the next cycle of events either.
“The fact that it has come so quickly is a dream within itself. I need to get grips with that and know that I belong there.”
Keith joined the Inverness Harriers when she was at primary school and was encouraged by her father Alec to get involved in sport.
At first she just enjoyed taking part, not knowing how much she would excel in athletics until recent years when Keith established herself as a world class athlete.
“I started when I was 10 at Inverness Harriers as my Dad was a member and took me to races," she recalled.
“I competed at the McRobert Cup at Bught Park and at primary school events in Inverness too, but nothing really became serious until just a few years ago.”
Keith has had a sensational 2023, becoming European Under-23 5000 metres champion in Finland in June.
She then ran under the World Championship qualification time for the 5000 metres at the Diamond League in London, crossing the line in 14 minutes and 56.98 seconds.
She also competed at the World Cross Country Championships in Australia in February, and says that she has far exceeded even her own expectations this year.
“Things are going much better than I planned,” she laughed.
“The goal for the summer was just to make the European Under-23 Championships and then I won gold which exceeded my goals.
“I then wanted to run a personal best in the Diamond League, but I never expected to go as fast as I did.
“I have run 56 seconds faster since last summer’s time so it is quite crazy.
“I didn’t even know what the world championship qualification time was.
“I knew when I crossed the line that I had broken 15 minutes – that was quite an incredible achievement – but I was unaware that I ran a qualification time until I went through to the media zone and they told me.
“That is when it sank in, but I was unaware of the process and it took me a while to work out.
“Every event this year has gone better than I hoped so far.”
Keith prepared for the World Championships at a Great Britain training camp in Slovakia before heading to Hungary in preparation for the heats on Wednesday morning.
With race time now fast approaching, she is looking forward to taking on the toughest test of her career so far.
“I would like to run a race that I am proud of at the World Championships,” she said.
“I don’t have any expectations, but I would love to make a final against the depth of quality female distance runners globally just now.
“If it is a fast race, I would love to be able to mix it with the best.
“The heats could be a tactical affair, but as long as I race in a way that I am happy with, that would be a great way to round off the season.”
