Eilish McColgan announces engagement with photos of fiancé Michael Rimmer proposing at Mount Fuji
Scots athletics star Eilish McColgan has announced she is due to marry her boyfiend and coach Michael Rimmer.
Distance runner McColgan, 34, let fans know the good news by sharing a photo of the moment fellow athlete Rimmer, 39, proposed to her during a trip to Mount Fuji, in Japan.
A series of images showed Rimmer down on one knee as he held out the ring to a delighted McColgan.
Alongside the photos, McColgan wrote: 'Absolutely worth the jet lag. Yes to forever! #offthemarket'
Fans on Instagram rushed to congratulate the couple, who have been together for more than a decade.
Scottish radio DJ Jennifer Reoch wrote: 'Aww huge congratulations!'
Fellow athlete Dame Kelly Homes wrote simply: 'Congratulations' as did English middle-distance runner Keely Hodgkinson.
Rimmer, a three-time Olympian himself at 800m, has been invaluable as a coach for McColgan since retiring from the sport.
McColgan, from Dundee, previously said: 'A lot of people who aren't athletes probably find it bizarre we spend 24 hours of the day together.
'We're in each other's pockets all the time but it just works. I just feel so much more relaxed when he's around me.
'It's essentially like having my best friend with me at every moment of my life – through the highs, the lows.
'It's a big commitment on his behalf too. But he's retired now and I feel he's shifted all his energy. So when I stand on the start line I feel like I'm not just doing it for myself.'
As well as training together, the couple are business partners, having set up a not-for-profit organisation Giving Back to Track together to help support young athletes a few years ago.
The not-forprofit initiative aims to remove the financial barriers to young people becoming involved in athletics.
The good news of the couple's engagement also comes hot on the heels of McColgan's success at the London Marathon at the weekend where she not only beat her famous mother Liz's record but also set a new Scottish record.
In her first race over 26.2 miles, the 34-year-old finished eighth in a time of 2hr 24min 25sec - a place ahead of fellow Brit Rose Harvey.
That was more than two minutes faster than the best time of her mum - who won there in 1996 - as well as breaking Steph Twell's previous Scottish marker of 2:26:40 set in Frankfurt in 2019.
After the race, McColgan, who was ruled out of the London race two years ago with a knee injury, had said: 'I'm really proud of myself today.
'I'm happy to break my mum's record. That was the main goal. I've broken every one of my mum's PBs now, so that was a really special thing to do within the family.'
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