Maria's Come On In Bleeps And Bounds

Sprint star Lyle is on right track after conquering her self-doubts

- David McCarthy

Maria Lyle has come a long way for an athlete who sprints short distances.

The 20-year-old from Dunbar is the 2019 Scottish Para Athlete of the Year after winning double gold at the World Championships in Dubai.

That came hard on the heels of Commonwealth Games silver for Scotland in Australia a year earlier and two bronzes and a silver at the Rio Paralympics when she was just 16 years old.

Lyle, who has cerebral palsy and runs in the T35 category, admits her success has come in spite of spells of severe self-doubt even after some spectacular sprint success.

And credits her partnership with coach Jamie Bowie with providing the support and belief that she can go from strength to strength ahead of next year’s Paralympics in Tokyo.

Lyle said: “People have perceptions of you when you have a disability and that was the case for me in primary school. When I was in primary four we had a Bleep test.