CHRIS BENNETT believes delivering silver in the hammer at the British Championships was a near miracle after being locked out of competition for almost six months.

The Rio 2016 Olympian threw 68.84 metres in Manchester on Saturday in his first outing since March to finish second to Craig Murch.

But it has been all change, revealed the 30-year-old, who had to wind back his training – and his part-time role as one of Celtic’s travel and logistics crew – to start working for a supermarket to pay the bills.

“I work in Tesco now as a delivery driver and I have been working 50 hour weeks,” he said. “We have not had restrictions on training but we have not been allowed on to the tracks. This means I have been throwing in a field in the middle of nowhere. The plan was not to compete this year, and I am 19kg down in weight from when I last competed.

“I am in good shape physically but lacking the completion sharpness. I compete because I love it, but it has been hard to get training in because I had to get a full-time job, meaning I could only train once a week.

“It has been hard to replicate the competition environment seeing as I am throwing next to an air field so credit to the people who have put this on.”

Bennett was among just eight Scottish medallists over two days with most of the leading lights staying away. Neil Gourley is now set to call time on his campaign after the world
championship finalist suffered a stunning reverse to unheralded George Mills in slipping to silver in the 1500m.

The 25-year-old said: “I am pretty sure this will be the end of my season as I need to take some time off to re-set. That was actually a good performance considering what I have been doing in training as I have been struggling.”

Jake Wightman will carry on to the Czech Republic for a meet on Tuesday despite losing out in the 800m final to fast-improving Dan Rowden who claimed a major scalp – and then praised the Edinburgh’s middle-distance maestro for his help.

Rowden said: “Jake has been an inspiration. Brits have done incredible things in the past in distance running – Coe, Cram and Ovett. To see a Brit really pushing amongst the big dogs of the world over middle-distance events gives you the belief that other Brits can do it, too.

“Jake, hands down, is the loveliest man in middle-distance running, if not in the whole of track and field. He’s a pleasure to be around. He always gives me a lot of great advice. Even in my first race of the season, even after being out for two years, he was there, he was chatting to me, helping to calm my nerves.”

The event, which was staged behind closed doors, could mark the end of an era with the BBC stalling on renewing their long-standing and lucrative television deal. If UK Athletics are forced to switch to pay TV or a streaming service, it could cost the cash-strapped sport priceless sponsorships and exposure in a major blow to the plans of new chief executive Joanna Coates.

“Over the last few years the sport has fallen back a little bit,” she said. “There’s no point denying that. I think everybody knows it’s gone back a little bit, but we are definitely on the up.”