PITREAVIE star Eilidh Doyle will race at this year's Olympic Games after winning gold at the British Championships in Birmingham yesterday.

The 29-year-old hurdler guaranteed her place on the plane to Rio by storming to victory in the women's 400m hurdles, retaining her title by nearly three seconds from runner-up Jessica Turner.

The top two athletes in each event at the Alexander Stadium were guaranteed a place in the Team GB squad - provided they had twice achieved the qualifying standard - and European champion Doyle made sure of her spot with a flawless race.

After comfortably winning her heat in a time of 56.30, the Pitreavie AAC athlete turned on the style to dominate the final, running well clear of the chasing pack after three hurdles before crossing the line in 54.93 seconds, with Turner (57.34) in second and Bethany Close (57.70) in third.

Rio will be the second Olympics the two-time Commonwealth Games silver medallist will have competed in, and she is one of 12 Scots athletes who are bound for Brazil.

Doyle, who last May confirmed her place in the 4x400m hurdles team with a bronze medal at the World Relay Championships, said: "I never take anything for granted because you’ve still got to go out and execute the race.

"I had to remain focused but I’m happy to put on a show this afternoon. It’s great to confirm qualification to the Olympic Games. I’m confident going into that competition as the hurdles field on the international stage is wide open this year.

"I’ve got to keep working hard because they don’t just hand out medals to anyone so I will be fighting for one. Until you have cemented that spot on the team, you can’t properly focus on it but now we can go away knowing I’ve secured my spot."