Ben Greenwood's good run at the Seniors landed him a Scottish title at 800m and his 1.51.78 time is the third-best on the Scottish all-time list for U20 athletes.
Here, the Perth Strathtay athlete talkes to MATK WOODS about his ambitions in the longer-term.


The shouts came loud and fast over the wall, the screams in Spanish ringing distractingly through Ben Greenwood’s ears. 
The Colombian constabulary, guns at their sides, hovered in close proximity, his safety among their primary concerns. The teenager, on his first trip to such exotic shores, was still not dissuaded from satisfying his youthful curiosity.
'There was a local Sunday League match going outside the track when we were doing a session,' the middle-distance prospect recounts of his adventure at last summer’s World Youth Games.
'But we had all the local kids coming over to the fence and shouting at us. It made us feel quite big time. 
'We went over for a look to see what it was like and to say hello. But the police were right there. They said: 'if you cross over the fence, then you’ll be at risk’. But they all seemed pretty friendly.'
Now 17, the schoolboy from Perth returned from Cali – where he reached the 800m semi-finals – with his horizons widened. Presently, they appear limitless. Having captured his first senior title at Febuary’s Scottish Indoor Championships, Greenwood is intent on carving a prodigious path towards the elite.
Rio, of course, will come too soon. Tokyo’s Olympics, four years from now, will be the subject of daydreams, with the 2018 Commonwealth Games an interim goal.
'I’ve got long-term targets that I think are manageable,' he confirms.
'I’m working towards them. And there are quite a few guys coming through just now so it’s good to mix with them and improve my times.'
There are staging posts en route where his craft can be honed like July’s world junior championships in Bydgoszcz. 
'I’ve been trying to work on getting through rounds harder than I did, making sure I’m even stronger. I had time at the end of the season to go over everything and we found out every slip-up came down to that same thing.
'So now I’ve got the opportunity to fix that. I want to be in a position to contend at major championships.'
A student of his craft, he has looked back to before he was born for role models, seeking inspiration in the strength and skill of Seb Coe and Steve Cram. While Kyle Langford, who went to last year’s world championships at the age of 19, is a natural contemporary.
'Maybe I won’t come through as soon as he has,' Greenwood reflects. 'But I like the way he’s progressed.'
The pair may face off later during the 2016 season. Until then, the young Scot has classes to attend and exams to aim for. School’s out, he says, cannot come soon enough. With a taste of an athlete’s life, he is ravenous for much more.
'I’ve lost focus a bit with focusing on athletics. I’m trying to tick along but it’s hard when you’re not as interested. I could do sessions all the time and not get bored but it’s harder in the classroom.'

A version of this article first appeared in the Herald newspaper