Scottish athlete Gourley, the European indoor record holder for the mile, the British indoor record holder for the 1500 m and three-time national champion believes he’s in the best condition of his life as he looks to put a run of injuries behind him and secure an Olympic medal. The 29-year-old missed out on the Tokyo Games because of an injuries and has also battled Covid and bone injuries in recent years.

After winning the 1500 metres gold medal at the 2024 British Athletics Championships, Gourley was subsequently named in the Great Britain team for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Now, the Glasgow runner, currently training at altitude in St Moritz in Switzerland, believes his body is in the best shape possible as he prepares to challenge for the 1500m in Paris this summer.

"I feel like I’ve timed it wrong, going into the championships carrying something, but this year, knock on wood, I’m coming in with a clean bill of health," he told BBC Sport Scotland. 

"A lot of the winter injuries I’ve had, although they were pretty brutal to deal with at the time, could be a little bit of a blessing in disguise if it’s meant I’ve come to this season a little later than I would otherwise and my body still feels fresh”, he says.

From his first bone injury of his career, osteitis pubis, after last year’s World Championships, to a sacral stress reaction in February, which can mean months of rehabilitation before returning to intense training. Gourley adopted the bike to salvage his hopes of competing at the Olympics, putting in up to 20 hours per week of cross-training, with advice from Team GB teammate and European silver medallist Georgia Bell. 

Gourley will continue with altitude training in the Alps until close to his event at the Stade de France, allowing him to focus on preparations away from "the chaos of the Olympic Village".

"We’re at 6000ft here, which seems to be a good stimulus - I seem to respond quite well to it. It’s an ideal setting, the training environment here is really ideal so I’ll be able to stay in this bubble with some of the other British endurance athletics that are training here", he admits. 

Gourley's 1500m win at June's UK Athletics Championship booked his ticket to Paris, where he’ll compete against compatriot and world champion Josh Kerr. The pair are among a clutch of Scottish middle distance athletes featuring at the Games and Gourley admits he’s taken inspiration from one of his fellow competitors this year.

"I’m often asked for a reason why the middle distances in Scotland are so strong," he told the BBC. "There’s not one good answer, because they’re from different training backgrounds and have come about it in different ways to get to similar levels. I’ve been inspired by people that pioneered it like Laura Muir, who’ve proven we can compete at world class levels”, tells the athlete.

"In the early 2000s there was no-one to really look up to, who was doing it at a truly world class level, then you started to have people like Chris O’Hare and Laura Muir come through, and show that we can compete with the best in the world here. I think there was often an attitude in the past that it’s going to be so tough to live with the best in the world, whether they were from the US or Kenya or wherever really, and I think that’s totally disappeared”, he tells.

"There’s a mental toughness there too, which doesn’t get talked about - we refuse to take no for an answer when the cards are against us. It’s no coincidence that success breeds more success, so I’m looking to do my part and inspire other people down the road."

Team GB to the Olympics

There are few more athletes making a comeback this year in Paris 2024, as Scarlett Mew Jensen and her partner Yasmin Harper, who will have the chance to win Team GB’s first aquatic medal of Paris 2024 on a competition this Saturday 27 July. Looking back some months ago, both achieved the same placings at the last two World Championships in the 3m springboard synchro.

We have to remember eight divers were confirmed by the British Olympic Association last May to represent Team GB at Paris 2024 in the four synchronised diving events. For the masculine representation, Tom Daley had quit the sport after winning his first Olympic gold with Matty Lee in Tokyo, but came out of retirement last July after his son told him he wanted to see him compete at the Olympics.

Also, the British rowing squad has experienced a remarkable transformation after their poor performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. For the first time since 1980, they failed to win any gold medals and only secured six fourth-place finishes, all against a backdrop of significant internal tension. 

But now, they are coming back with athletes like the double Olympic champion Helen Glover, wich is  among 42 athletes, across 10 boats, who will represent Great Britain at the Paris 2024 Games.