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Biography

 

Age: 22 years old

 

Personal Best: 63.11m

 

Location: Loughborough

 

Coach: John Pearson

 

Club: Falkirk Victoria Harriers/Woodford Green & Essex Ladies

 

 

Myra first started Athletics at the age of 11, as a sprinter and then multi-eventer. She first picked up a hammer just before her 15th birthday and attempted to swing the hammer around her head and turn at the same time. Despite this approach being completely unsuccessful, she perservered and 6 months later was invited to the inaugural U15 girls UK Championships, where she snatched a surprise bronze medal.

 

And there the love-hate relationship with Hammer began. Having never even dreamed of making it to such a big competition, now there was the tantalising opportunity to win more medals. Under the expert tutelage of the late Hammer guru, Alan Bertram M.B.E., Myra made great progress over the next few years and acquired a number of Great Britain vests in the youth and junior age groups.

 

At the age of 17, Myra had the incredible opportunity to spend 6 months of her gap year in Germany, training alongside the current world record holder, Betty Heidler and her compatriot Kathrin Klaas. This gave her a real insight into the daily routine of an elite squad and helped her to appreciate the immense work ethic of these athletes.

In 2010, Myra began studying Social Psychology at Loughborough University, where she joined the squad of John Pearson, another of Alan's former pupils. In her first year at Loughborough, she threw a lifetime best of 61.94m at the British University Championships, breaking her own Scottish U20 record in the process.

 

Since then, her focus shifted slightly to education and she graduated from Loughborough with a First Class Degree in the summer of 2013. In the year leading up to the Commonwealth Games, Myra trained as a full-time athlete, with the continued help of John, with the aim of competing for Scotland at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. She improved her lifetime best to 63.11m, achieving the first of her three Commonwealth Games standards. 

 

In the most competitive event for places on the Scotland team, Myra booked one of the three spots for Women's Hammer, after a very close selection battle. Despite a difficult route through the Qualifying Round, she made it to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Final and finished above her ranking in 10th place, in her first international senior event. 

 

Myra is now working full-time and focussing her sights on the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, where she aims to be in the mix for a medal.

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