Sarah Tait (runner)

Sarah Tait
Sarah Tait at the 2025 UK Athletics Championships
Personal information
NationalityBritish (Scottish)
Born (2001-03-26) 26 March 2001
Sport
SportAthletics
Event
Steeplechase
ClubLasswade/West Virginia Uni
Achievements and titles
Personal bests3000m: 8:59.73 (Boston, 2025)
3000m s'chase: 9:18.66 (Oordegem, 2025) NRS

Sarah Tait (born 26 March 2001) is a Scottish steeplechase runner. In 2025, she broke Eilish McColgan's Scottish record for the 3000 metres steeplechase and represented Great Britain at the 2025 World Championships.[1]

Early life

Tait is from Fairmilehead. She graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in Sports Studies in 2023 from the University of Stirling before later studying at the University of West Virginia.[2]

Career

Tait is a member of Lasswade Athletics Club where she is coached by Linda and Kirk Smith.[3]

In June 2021, she broke her personal best three times for the 3000 metres steeplechase and had a victory at the England Athletics Under-23 Championships.[4] She was subsequently selected for the 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, placing fifth in the final of the 3000 metres steeplechase.[5][6]

Tait won the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) title in 2023. That year, she also won the Scottish Student Sport (SSS) title, as she also had in 2020 and 2022.[2] She finished sixth in the final of the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland.[7] She had a fourth-place at the 2024 British Athletics Championships in the 3000m steeplechase, with a personal best time of 9:49.88.[8]

Competing in the United States, she set a 3000 metres indoors personal best in Boston, Massachusetts in February 2025, running 8:59.73 to move to eleventh on the Scottish all-time list.[9] She set a new personal best of 9:37.62 for the 3000m steeplechase in 2025 at the Bryan Clay Invitational and later qualified for the 2025 NCAA Championships.[10][11] She lowered her personal best to 9:37.06 in qualifying for the final of the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships.[12][13] In the final, she ran a new personal best of 9:27.80 to place fourth overall.[14] The time also broke the Eilish McColgan Scottish record set 12 years previously.[15]

Tait was selected for the British team to compete at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships in Madrid in June 2025 for her senior international debut, finishing second in the 3000 metres steeplechase, 0.03 seconds behind Finland's Ilona Mononen.[16][17][18] On 2 August, she set a new Scottish record to finish second behind Elise Thorner at the 2025 UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham in 9:25.17.[19] Later that month, she lowered her personal best for the 3000m steeplechase to 9:18.66 whilst running in Oordegem, Belgium.[20] She competed as part of the British team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.[21] However, a difficult landing from a water jump at the championships caused ruptured and torn ankle ligaments with bone bruising.[22] In 2026, Tait joined On Athletics Club Oceania under Head Coach Craig Mottram.[23] In June, she placed third in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2026 UK Championships, her first steeplechase race of the year.[24][25]

Tait placed tenth competing for Scotland in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[26][27] In August, she competed at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, in the 3000 metres steeplechase.[28]

Personal life

She has been a beneficiary of the Give Back to the Track initiative founded by Eilish McColgan.[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Sarah Tait". World Athletics. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Team GB athlete takes time off the track to graduate". Midlothian View. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  3. ↑ "How Sarah Tait went from commentary box to top of the podium . . ". Scottish Athletics. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  4. ↑ MacLean, Ian (23 June 2021). "Lasswade's Sarah Tait misses Euro selection by agonising half second". Edinburgh News. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  5. ↑ MacLean, Ian (30 June 2021). "Lasswade athlete Sarah Tait in Team GB for European under-23 Championships in Estonia". Edinburgh News. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "Erin lands brave 1500m bronze at Euro U23s – with Sarah fifth in steeplechase". Scottish athletics. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  7. ↑ "European Athletics U23 Championships". World Athletics. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  8. ↑ Smith, Joseph (29 June 2024). "WVU redshirt senior Sarah Tait falls heartbreakingly short of UK Olympic Team in 3,000-meter steeplechase". hailwvu. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  9. ↑ "Record breaker! Brodie brings down Men's Indoor mark over 400m . . . after 37 years". Scottish Arhletics. 9 February 2025. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  10. ↑ "LOUISVILLE'S GEOFFREY KIRWA MOVES TO NO. 2 ON NCAA ALL-TIME STEEPLECHASE LIST AT BRYAN CLAY". Runnerspace. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "PREVIEW - 10 STORYLINES TO WATCH AT THE WOMEN'S NCAA D1 OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2025". Runnerspace. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  12. ↑ Hutchinson, Emma (13 June 2025). "JaMeesia Ford, Anthaya Charlton Have Historic Times In 100m Dash At NCAAs". Flotrack. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "Women 3000 M Steeple Semis" (PDF). ncaa.com. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Sarah Tait earns All-American honor in 3000 meter steeplechase". wowktv.com. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  15. ↑ Smith, Tyrone (3 July 2025). "McColgan prodigy Tait sets sights on Olympics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  16. ↑ "GB&NI Team for European Team Championships Announced". Fast Running. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  17. ↑ "Iapichino and Fabbri contribute to Italy's victory at European Team Championships". worldathletics.org. 29 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  18. ↑ Mallows, Tom (29 June 2025). "GB finish fifth at European Athletics Team Championships". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  19. ↑ "Amy Hunt takes dramatic 100m gold at UK Champs". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  20. ↑ "IFAM Oordegem". World Athletics. 9 August 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  21. ↑ Henderson, Jason (26 August 2025). "BRITISH TEAM NAMED FOR WORLD CHAMPS IN TOKYO". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  22. ↑ Henderson, Jason (20 May 2026). "HOW THEY TRAIN: SARAH TAIT". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "On Athletics Club Oceania Expands Roster with Five Powerhouse Signings". On-running. 7 April 2026. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
  24. ↑ "Novuna UK Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 20 June 2026. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  25. ↑ "Hunt and Glave Reign Supreme in 100m Finals in Day One of Novuna UK Athletics Championships". British Athletics. 20 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  26. ↑ "XXIII Commonwealth Games". World Athletics. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "Picked for Scotland! 39 to take steps to Scotstoun as full Glasgow 2026 team now revealed". Scottish Athletics. 26 June 2026. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  28. ↑ "European Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 10 August 2026. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  29. ↑ Egelstaff, Susan (2 August 2025). "Sarah Tait on her breakthrough year and advice from Eilish McColgan". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
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