Loughborough’s Rees aims to smash her own Scottish record in Birmingham (VIDEO)

Team Scotland sprinter Alisha Rees has set her sights on breaking her own national record at this summer’s Commonwealth Games.

The Loughborough University alumna (Sociology) has been in fine recent form this season, having twice already recorded the Scottish National Record for the Women’s 100m.

In May, she clocked 11.39 in Dagenham before eclipsing her own time at the British Championships in July with a time of 11:30.

The 23-year-old Aberdeen local is now determined to go even faster in Birmingham and is understandably excited to finally represent her home nation at the Games.

"Four years ago, I missed out by 0.02 seconds so to finally get the call and know my place in the team is 100 per cent guaranteed…I was just so happy,” she said.

"I'm really proud to be Scottish. People don't really think I sound Scottish because of my accent but I'm 100 per cent Scottish-born and bred. To succeed in Scotland vest would be a dream come true."

Alisha continued: "It's a real achievement for me and I'm definitely looking forward to more times I can wear the Scotland vest. It's always a proud moment for me. I'm really hoping to make the final - that would be huge.

“I’d like to put myself in a place where more people know my name and know that I'm really serious about the sport, but ultimately, I want to perform as best as I can.

“If I can run another PB and another Scottish record, that would be the aim."

Alisha started out in athletics as a junior when she joined her two older brothers at the track.

"My mum used to get them to play football, but they weren’t that good at it,” she joked.  

 “My parents were like...'we need to find another sport for them' and took them to the local athletics track. I used to really look up to them and I just wanted to do anything they did. I guess as soon as I turned eight, I went straight to my local athletics track and people saw that I was quick at running.”

Loughborough’s dedicated 2022 Commonwealth Games website features all the latest news, videos, and medal tables from Birmingham.

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 22/134

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2022 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2022, and 10th in both the Guardian University League Table 2022 and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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