Daughter to Olympians John Nuttall and Alison Wyeth, sister to Paralympian Luke and stepsister to British 5000m record holder Eilish McColgan, Nuttall is continuing the family legacy as she prepares to make her worlds debut in Tokyo.
The 28-year-old from Charnwood punched her ticket retaining her 5000m title at the British Championships, having comfortably clocked the qualifying standard with a new personal best of 14:39.48 at the London Diamond League in July.
It not only marks the fulfilment of a lifelong dream for Nuttall but the perfect response to missing out on selection for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics by just 0.65s.
“I was hoping to go the Olympics last year and to miss it by such a small margin was disappointing but it gave me that extra fight to make these World Championships,” said Nuttall, speaking at a Novuna-backed British camp – with the company financing the ambitions of millions across the UK, from helping business grow and individuals plan for the future, to backing British Athletics on the global stage..
“It’s such a big deal to me and it’s a dream of mine that I’ve had for such a long time and to actually do it is amazing.
“My mum and my dad were runners at a high level and also coached so even when they weren’t competing, I was around athletes and training camps my whole life.
“When I won the British championships, I had confirmed qualifying and it was such a relief because I knew I could do it but to actually do it was another thing and I was so happy, it was incredible.”
The 28-year-old bounced back from her Paris disappointment with her best-ever season on the track, setting personal bests in both the 3000m and 5000m while clocking regular appearances on the Diamond League circuit.
It is perhaps no surprise, given Nuttall is no stranger to overcoming adversity in order to achieve her dreams, having initially struggled on the famously competitive NCAA circuit in the USA as a prodigious youngster.
“When my dad was out there, he won the NCAAs and was really successful and I assumed I would be successful as well but when I finished my first NCAA cross-country, I was in the 80s so it was a big shock,” admitted Nuttall.
“In terms of the running it didn’t go how I want but it was a good developmental stage to get me to where I am today.
“After New Mexico, I went back to Loughborough and started doing a Masters there because I didn’t want to start work straight-away.
“I wanted to give myself another chance with running and towards the end of that year I started to see a lot of progress.”
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