Mitchell sets Commonwealths in sights
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DOUBLE Scottish Champion Mark Mitchell has admitted poor tactics cost him a shot at Olympic glory.
However, the Forres Harrier will use his Olympic experience to spur him on to achieve his 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth dream.
Mitchell, crowned Scottish 800m and 1500m champion last month, finished fifth in his 1500m heat at the Aviva UK Championshp, which doubled as an Olympic trial, in Birmingham.
The 24-year-old led with just 100m remaining but was overhauled by some quick-finishing rivals.
With the top two and best third place finishers from each heat making the final 12, Mitchell was devastated that he let it slip.
"I got my tactics wrong," he told ‘The Scot’. "It was pretty slow through the first 800m and I was sitting at the front which isn’t where you want to be in a slow race."
Mitchell, who finished in 3min 50.22sec, admitted he could do nothing to recover momentum once the flying four had reeled him in.
Ranked 20th in the UK at 1500m currently, Mitchell was nevertheless confident of reaching the final, having done so in 2011.
Edinburgh-based Mitchell, who also runs for Birchfield Harriers, will now focus all his energies on making the Scottish team for the Commonwealth Games in 2014, which will be in Glasgow.
"You can start qualifying for the Commonwealths from 2013 and that is just around the corner," he said.
He would love to double up in both events, but the 1500m represents his best chance of qualification.
Aside from his Olympic trial disappointment, Mitchell has had a fabulous season which reached a peak with both titles at the Scottish Championships.
"It is 89 years since someone did the double and it was that long ago that races were still measured in yards," he said.
Mitchell is aiming to keep running faster in the coming months and has competitive races in Manchester and Solihull on the horizon.
The sports and exercise science graduate is going on to study for a masters degree in physiotherapy at Queen Margaret University at Musselburgh, just outside Edinburgh.
