In bygone times, the fictitious Ewings drilled for oil beneath American terrain. For their far-flung factual descendant, panning for gold will be the ambition when he lands in the US of A, determined to write himself a story more fantastical than any episode of Dallas.
Joe Ewing is only 18. Yet the world seems at his quicksilver feet. Two weeks ago, the latest off the Edinburgh Athletics Club production line of middle-distance tyros procured a Scottish Under-20 record for the 1500 metres that had lasted, untouched, for half a century.
As bright as he is speedy, he has grand plans to mix it among the elite. And now, it has been confirmed that he will head to New England in the fall on a scholarship to Harvard University, studying economics in the noon, running track morning and night.
“Obviously, at Harvard, academics is huge,” the teen underlines. “And I went to a school where they said you need to pursue academic interests. I initially got in contact with the coach over there but it was just out of curiosity. I was just being nosy about the programme and spoke to him for a bit.
“But then I was like: ‘wow, the Harvard track and field programme is actually quite good nowadays.’ In terms of the academics, it's objectively one of the best unis in the world. So if my athletics can help me get into anywhere like that, it's hard for me to turn it down.”
And so off he will jet to Boston, from his present part-time employ in a supermarket to consorting with the future presidents and would-be corporate behemoths of the Ivy League. The trans-Atlantic route, however, is well-trodden by those in whose path he dares to tread, with Jake Wightman one of the few monoliths of the mile who resisted the lure of the States.
Chris O’Hare opted for Oklahoma. Josh Kerr for New Mexico. Within his club, he has role models in abundance, a list that also includes Lynsey Sharp, whose mother Carol is his coach. “It's impossible not to look up to the guys like that,” he acknowledges. “And even on the Glaswegian side, Neil Gourley.
“Since Carol was my coach, I've always been in contact with Lynsey. I've been training with her since I was 15. And through that, I've had an inner glance into the sport. I know Jake, I know all the guys quite well. And I think that makes a lot easier.
“These guys grew up in Edinburgh. They have the exact same upbringing that I have. They're very competitive on a world stage. And so I think that does go a really long way. Just to be like, ‘if these guys are doing it, why can't I?’”
The young pup has been rapidly embraced by his elders. Gourley, a world championship finalist and Tokyo Olympic hopeful, provided the pacemaking that jettisoned Ewing to his junior landmark. Commuting to Glasgow twice-weekly to take advantage of his privileges to train at the Emirates Arena, he has grown close to a previous Olympic finalist, Andy Butchart.
“I'm now at the point where I'm not that much help to Lynsey in sessions,” the teen admits. “I'm more help with Andy. It is really, really interesting, picking his brains actually about things. And the same with Jake.”
Ewing’s new indoor 1500m personal best of 3:47.98 was good enough for eleventh on the UK’s all-time Under-20 list but he has another year beneath the senior ranks to burnish his CV. He will race Butchart and other contemporaries in Manchester this coming weekend and then regroup for a summer in which both the world and European junior championships will be on his agenda.
And then, who knows? The pattern has been established. In three years, the Paris Olympics will be almost upon us and he will be of age to dare to dream. Until then, he insists, his coach will keep him rooted in graft and application.
“The thing that I have always found so good about Carol is that, since I've been with her since I was 12, she almost knows me better than myself at this point,” Ewing proclaims. “I trust her to be able to take me year on year to improve.
“So I don’t think 2024 is out of the question. But I think the others are definitely raising the bar. You’re still going to have Josh and Jake around in three years time. But yeah, I don’t see why I can’t be mixing with those guys.”
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