Thew wait for gold was truly worth it for Dunbar sprinter Maria Lyle after storming to victory at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.
The Scot is one of the most talented in the British team but has had to bide her time in major events, bagging two silver and two bronze medals in individual events at her last two global competitions.
But in Dubai, top step on the podium finally became hers, winning the women’s T35 100m in a time of 14.62 seconds.
With the 200m still to come, there’s plenty of time for Lyle to add another medal to a collection that already features Paralympic, world, European and Commonwealth honours.
But focus is already on 2020 for the 19-year-old, with less than one year to go until the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
“I’m feeling happy, it’s been a long time coming! It’s my third World Championships so it’s very special to finally get that title,” she said.
“I got a good reaction but I stumbled close to the start so at the end or most of the race I was trying to recover from that.
“But to do that time considering the conditions, it fills me with confidence so I’m looking forward to the 200m now.
“A world title is very special. It’s something I’ve never had before so to do it here when we’ve had the team achieving so much is special and it’s really important to me.
“I’ve won at European level but to do it at the Worlds is something I’ve never experienced before as an individual. It’s a really important time for my athletics career so I’m very happy.”
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