BACON butties from her gran and trying some biscuit treats have been helping Nicole Yeargin wind down after her Olympic debut.

After a memorable time in Tokyo, the 24-year-old Pitreavie AAC star has been spending time in what she calls her “second home” before she heads back to the United States this month.

It’s been a whirlwind summer for the University of Southern California graduate and Maryland native, who has declared to run for Scotland and Great Britain as her mum, Lynn, is originally from Dunfermline.

In June, a second-place finish at the Müller British Athletics Championships – having achieved an Olympic qualifying standard previously at the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Championships – saw her seal her place at her maiden Games, just five years after taking up athletics.

Nicole competed in the 4x400m mixed and women’s relays, and the 400 metres, in which she suffered a first-ever disqualification in the heats of her individual event, and helped Team GB to sixth in the mixed and fifth in the women’s relay.

During a visit to see her gran, Grace, Nicole popped along to Pitreavie Athletics Centre to meet some of the club’s younger members on August 19, and spoke exclusively to Press Sport.

When asked how it felt to be back in Dunfermline, having last visited three years ago, she said: “It’s good; it’s like a second home, to be honest.

“Since I’ve been travelling a lot all summer, it’s nice to just be somewhere that I’m relatively aware of and have been before. It’s like being at home; I don’t really have to cook that much, just my breakfast probably!

“The bacon’s just so good here – I can’t give it up, I’ve got to eat as much as I can before I go home!

“It’s a nice way to end the season. I’ve found myself the past few days reflecting on everything that’s happening, just taking it all in and enjoying this relaxing time before I’ve got to start back up again.

“All I can say is I want to do better next time.”

Now she’s had a taste of it, Paris in 2024 is firmly on Nicole’s radar, as are the Commonwealth Games, the World Athletics Championships and the European Athletics Championships, which will all take place next year.

She’ll go into those events having experienced the biggest competition of them all, and is determined to learn from the disappointment of the 400m, which saw her disqualified – having finished third that would otherwise have seen her advance to the semi-finals – having been deemed to have caught the lane line with her foot.

“I’ve never had a DQ before but it’s a learning lesson,” she reflected.

“When something like that happens, just don’t do it again. I did come through and, yeah, I was excited, but I did know that I stepped on the line. Once you’re on a curve, and you’re turning left, you can’t really move your foot to the right, so I knew I did it.

“I was a little shocked when I saw up on the board a big Q so, when they told me later on, I wasn’t surprised like ‘Oh my gosh’ because I knew I did it.

“I think it’s more embarrassment more than anything but I came back for the 4x400m. You can only knock yourself down for so long, and then it’s like, okay, it’s over with, it happened.

“It’s not like I pulled an injury or anything, so you can move on from it.

“I was happy I still had that, and I wasn’t just ending my season on a DQ. That wouldn’t have been the best but at least I performed well in the 4x400m and I was able to anchor my team.

“It was the first anchor I had all year so I was happy I got to do it in the Olympics. I enjoy relays; as my coach says, I’m a competitor, I’m competitive – I don’t want any girl to beat me!

“I did run my fastest time. I tied my time that I did in the relay for nationals so I was definitely not upset with myself. It’s different if I run slower, then it’s like, ‘Ugh, what am I doing?’ but the fact that I was able to run faster and faster each time I got out onto the track was nice.”

When asked how she would sum up her Olympic experience, Nicole added: “I would sum it up as a test run, I guess.

“It’s my first one; there’s not always a high expectation. I wasn’t number one in the world so it’s just a chance to take the experience, and I can say I’m a Olympian.

“Now I actually feel like one. I think it’s different when people come up to you and ask, ‘Can I get a picture with you?’.

“I think that helps, and Dunfermline has definitely helped with that. It’s nice to be welcomed here and everyone knows what I’ve done.

“It’s going to be a better Olympics next time with fans and everything. That’s why I always say, ‘I can only go up from here’.”