Paris Olympics medallist Nicole Yeargin nominated for UKA funding

The 27-year-old, who is a member of Pitreavie AAC, is one of 65 athletes who have been nominated for membership to join the UK Athletics Olympic World Class Programme (WCP) for 2024/25.

Funded by the National Lottery, it aims to identify, develop and support competitors towards medal success at the Olympic Games and other global major championships.

The WCP is split into several levels reflecting the actual, and future, performance potential of athletes - Olympic Podium, Olympic Podium Potential, Olympic Relays and Olympic Confirmation - and they are nominated for the WCP if it is judged they have the realistic and potential performance capability to win medals at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, or the 2032 event in Brisbane.

Nicole, who was born and raised in the United States, qualifies to run for Scotland and Great Britain as her mum, Lynn, is originally from Dunfermline.

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She was selected to run for Team GB at this summer's Paris Olympics, which followed up her appearance at the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, and came home with two bronze medals.

Nicole ran in the mixed 4x400 metres relay heats, which enabled her to pick up a medal when Team GB's quartet finished third in the final, before running in the women's 4x400m relay final.

Nicole Yeargin won bronze in both the mixed and women's 4x400 metre relay events in Paris. (Image: Sam Mellish / Team GB.)

Taking on the third leg, she took the baton from Laviai Neilsen, after Victoria Ohuruogu had ran the opening leg, and was in a battle with the Netherlands and Ireland for medal positions, with the United States out in front.

She ran a split time of 49.9 seconds before handing on to Amber Anning, who anchored the team home in third place, behind runaway winners the US, and the Dutch, who claimed silver.

Those medals in Paris added to 2022 European Athletics Championships women's 4x400m relay bronze, and the same colour of gongs, in the same event at both the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships, that Nicole has also won with Great Britain, alongside a 2022 Commonwealth Games women's 4x400m relay bronze earned in a Scotland vest.

Nicole has been nominated to join the Olympic Relays level of the WCP, he nomination for which is subject to ratification by UK Sport, and a signed athlete agreement between the athlete and UK Athletics.

Paula Dunn, UK Athletics Olympic head coach, said: "Athletics has had two consecutive years of bringing back 10 medals from a global stage and this investment is key to that.

"I believe we have demonstrated as a sport we are directing this investment into the right areas and look forward to receiving confirmation of our LA investment later this year."