EILIDH Doyle is becoming something of an old hand at competing in major championships in her home country. A veteran of both London 2012 and Glasgow 2014, Doyle will experience her third major championship on home soil when the World Athletics Championships kick off next Friday in London.

The 400m hurdler admits to feeling “so, so lucky” that her career has coincided with one of the most exciting periods that British sport has ever seen in terms of hosting global championships, with her longevity ensuring that she has been a part of each one of these sporting extravaganzas.

London 2017 will be Doyle’s fifth world championships and while that in itself is impressive, perhaps even more remarkable is that the 30 year-old continues to improve.

Doyle’s season to date has been impressively consistent, picking up a raft of top-four finishes in the Diamond League meets and another British title, as well as taking a number of significant scalps of world and Olympic medallists into the bargain.

Her recent form has left the former European champion in a confident mood going into next week’s World Championships.

“The last few weeks have come together really well,” she said. “I’ve been right in the mix and executing the race well so I’m happy with where I am. I think one of the main things is to go into races not fearing anybody, just being able to go and race.”

The 400m hurdles has been one of the most intriguing disciplines on the track this season, with no woman stamping her authority of the event.

The openness of her event has resulted in Doyle has been talked about as a realistic medal contender for London 2017 but she is also aware that she could just as easily miss out on the final altogether if she is she is not at the top of her game from round one.

“There’s a lot of people running well but there’s not an out-and-out favourite,” she said. “I’m running well enough that you’d be thinking maybe I could win a medal but there’s so much depth at the moment that I could also run well and not make the final.

“It’s so open that I think I am capable of beating these girls, but there are so many in that position so it’ll be really interesting.”

Last summer, Doyle made sure she will go down in history when she completed the full set of major championship medals by picking up Olympic bronze to add to her world, Commonwealth and European medals.

However, she admits that since she turned 30, more and more people have begun to float the idea of retirement to her but it is a prospect that remains far from her mind.

“In some ways, it feel like my first World Championships was so long ago but in others ways, it doesn’t feel like I’ve been doing this all that long,” she said. “I’ve always said that I just take every year as it comes and as long as I’m still enjoying it and my body still allows me to do it, I’ll continue and I think I love it more now than I ever have.”

Doyle has had a significant change in her setup recently though.

Based in Bath, she had been coached by the legendary hurdles coach, Malcolm Arnold, however his retirement earlier this year has meant that Doyle’s husband, Brian, has taken over the reigns.

Having been mentored by Arnold for the past few years and a former athlete himself, he is well schooled in what Doyle needs for her to remain amongst the world’s best and with Arnold still involved, Doyle is getting the best of both worlds.

For some couples though, spending all day at the track then heading off home together would be too much but the Doyles seem to have found a system that is working perfectly for them both on and off the track.

“We have a rule that we don’t talk about athletics in the house, although we do end up talking about it a bit,” Doyle reveals. “But we’re pretty good at leaving the coach-athlete relationship at the track and going back to a normal husband and wife at home. And it’s working out pretty well so far.”

Doyle will be one of 14 Scots in the GB team for London 2017 and she admits that it is changed days from when she was one of only a select few Scottish athletes in the GB set-up.

Not only is the Scottish influx hugely important for the health of the sport in this country, it also makes the major championships that little bit more enjoyable for Doyle.

“It’s great to have so many Scots running well,” she said. “And what’s good is that the limelight isn’t on one single person so we’re all sharing the attention. I’m good friends with Steph Twell and I get on really well with Laura Muir so it makes the whole experience that bit more enjoyable.”