Athletics is very much a family affair for the Davidsons, who must spend as many weekday evenings down at the running track as they do sitting down at the dinner table.
Tempo runs, interval sessions, resistance training – all the track and field lingo is firmly engrained into the Aberdeen family who, had they an opportunity to run in a relay team together, would surely make a formidable quartet.
Dating back to the 1980s and 1990s, dad Mark and mum Fiona were Scottish internationals of a high calibre.
The former, now the president of Aberdeen AAC, is a former Scottish record-holder in the 400m hurdles and took a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1990.
Meanwhile, mum Fiona was a fellow Scottish champion in the 1990s, though the major highlight of her career came more recently, at the World Masters Championships in 2015 when she took triple jump gold in Lyon.
It comes as no surprise their son, 23-year-old Callum, and daughter, 20-year-old Jane, have taken up track and field with a similar level of drive and commitment which has seen them both achieve their fair share of successes over the years.
But last weekend, it was Jane who added to the family’s medal collection when she won a bronze medal in the 60m hurdles at the British University Indoor Championships (BUCS) in Sheffield.
A reigning Scottish champion, this was the first time the Aberdeen University student had medalled in a final against UK opposition. Setting a personal best in the process, the weekend was more than just about the silverware.
The omens were certainly good for Davidson, who came into the competition off the back of a strong run at the UK Indoor Championships in Birmingham. Davidson’s progression into the semi was just as slick her hurdling technique – a first place finish in the heat followed by a second place finish in the semi meant she was in line for a strong lane draw in the final.
‘I knew I had a chance’
Come the showpiece, Davidson was perhaps the fourth or fifth athlete to rise to the first hurdle, but her strength in the latter half of the race saw her surge ahead of her nearest challengers. International heptathlete, Brunel University’s Jodie Smith, took gold whilst Buckinghamshire New University’s Marli Jessop took silver. For Davidson, taking a bronze behind two GB athletes was no mean feat.
She said: “I definitely knew I was in with a chance. The top two were a bit further ahead of us all, but after that we were all quite close.
“I was ranked about fifth going into the competition, but I definitely knew the bronze medal was up for grabs based on what the other girls had been doing that season. My main aim was to get close to that third spot because I definitely knew it was up for grabs and there to take.”
Discussing the race itself, Davidson explained there was certainly work to be done after a flat start allowed some of the competition to get away from her.
“I actually felt like I stumbled a little bit into the first hurdle, but I knew third spot was there – I just had to execute the rest of the race. Coming off the last hurdle, I definitely felt like I had a lot of momentum, and that’s where I made ground on the other girls to get the third spot – over the last two hurdles.”
The bronze medal was, of course, a cause for celebration for the Davidsons, all of whom have been coached by Aberdeen AAC stalwart Bob Masson at some stage during their careers. Davidson, who has been coached since 2015 by the former St Margaret’s chemistry teacher, is now looking to put in about six uninterrupted weeks of work before the outdoor season gets under way.
She added: “For me, I think it’s just about getting that smooth transition from indoors to outdoors, because I don’t think I’ve had that since 2020 due to injuries and things.
“I don’t think my 60m hurdles time quite reflects what I can do outdoors. I’ll definitely be trying to keep a smooth transition over the hurdles, and do a lot of speed endurance going over hurdles in training.”
So long as Masson comes up with the right formula and Davidson continues her linear progression, there could well be more personal bests – and medals – yet to come this year.
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