Life hurdles no barrier for Jane as she takes baton as Coach, Club Manager and Official

Wednesday 16th July 2025

By Katy Barden

Celebrating Aberdeen FC’s first Scottish Cup win in 35 years was an unexpected highlight for Jane Davidson.

It wasn’t because she lacked the belief that her team could defeat league champions and cup holders Celtic; it was the fact that under normal circumstances she’d have been competing at an early season track meeting rather than witnessing an historic Hampden victory and a joyous parade through the Granite City.

Instead, a ruptured Achilles tendon at February’s European Athletics Permit (EAP) Indoor International at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena brought her 2025 indoor season to an abrupt close and realistically ruled her out of competition for the rest of the year.

‘Not quite the 2025 season I had in mind,’ she wrote on Instagram post-surgery. ‘Gutted is an understatement, but I’m ready to take each day as it comes and fully commit to the recovery process so I can get back to doing what I love most.’

Five months on from her injury, the 22-year-old – who made her senior Scotland debut in 2023 – is feeling positive.

Working closely with physiotherapist James Cruickshank, she is focused on what she can do rather than where she should be.

‘I did my first little jog last week,’ she says happily.

‘I’m not trying to rush anything; I don’t have a timeline or anything written down in front of me which I actually quite like because it means I’m not getting stressed about hitting targets or goals – why do I need a target when rehab is so personal?’

Family ties: Why Scotland vest means so much to Jane . . . and her parents

Photo by Bobby Gavin

Meet the Davidsons: Katy Barden’s feature from June 2020

Davidson is passionate about athletics – which is not entirely surprising given her family’s involvement in the sport (a story told by scottishathletics in 2020 in the feature titled ‘Meet the Davidsons’) – but her love of track and field extends far beyond competition.

She was a volunteer coach at Aberdeen AAC from the age of 14, and at 16 she was paid to coach the club’s community sessions.

She continued to coach throughout high school and university, and after graduating from the University of Aberdeen in 2024 with a degree in sports science, she took on a part-time role as the club’s community activation officer.

‘Coaching came second nature to me because I did combined events, so I knew a bit of everything,’ she says.

‘Athletics isn’t for everyone for their whole life, but finding another avenue, whether it’s coaching or officiating, can be rewarding.

‘The coaching pathway is one of the club’s main targets. Coaching can also help keep kids in the sport because they can coach before their own training sessions rather than trying to get a Saturday job that might clash with competitions.

Early starter . . . Jane was introduced to hurdles from an early age (photo via the Davidson family)

‘We also do a lot of outreach at the club. We deliver a lot of free sessions in areas of high deprivation in the city, those in level one and two on the SIMD list (*SIMD is the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, the Scottish Government’s official tool for identifying concentrations of deprivation in Scotland).

‘When we went through our membership we realised we didn’t have any members from those areas. Aberdeen Sports Village itself is situated in a SIMD level one or two area and we didn’t even have those children participating in athletics, so that’s my community role – it’s about taking athletics to these children and it’s great fun, I love it.’

Not that competition was ever far from her thoughts. When she graduated, the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow was inevitably on her radar. With part-time working hours, she was afforded the opportunity to focus on her own athletics and to give herself every chance of making an impact.

She came into 2025 with personal best times of 11.83 (100m) and 13.53 (100m hurdles), achieved with victories on consecutive days at the 130^th edition of the Scottish Championships in 2023. She was also part of Scotland’s 4 x 100m relay squad.

While the goalposts have changed, the sport remains integral to everything Davidson does. A return to hurdles isn’t imminent, but a return to sprinting next year (‘hopefully running fast’) is entirely realistic.

Photo by Bobby Gavin

In the meantime, while one door has closed, another door (or two) has opened.

In March, following a successful job application made just after her injury, Davidson started a new position as Aberdeen AAC’s Club Manager, a role that includes working with the board to create a new club development plan, in addition to operations and computer-based administration such as handling member enquiries and managing the club’s website and social media.

She continues to work as the club’s Community Activation Officer.

Not only that, but she is also at the start of her track and field Official’s pathway having completed the first stage of the ‘Level 1 Photo Finish’ course. A minimum of two full-day or four half-day competition experiences are now required to be licensed.

This summer, she’ll deliver ‘Run, Jump, Throw’ camps at Aberdeen Sports Village in addition to Athletics Trust Scotland-funded camps for children who attend the club’s free satellite sessions and have never visited the impressive venue.

It offers a different perspective to her usual summer schedule but gives her immense satisfaction all the same: ‘I can’t wait to see their faces when they see the place.’

The joy in her face is palpable. Even when talking about Scottish performances this summer – performances she could have been, should have been, part of – her enthusiasm is infectious.

‘You love to see it,’ she says, noting specifically the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard by Scotland’s Senior Women’s 4 x 100m relay team and the recent record-breaking performance by the U20 Women’s 4 x 100m relay team.

‘Obviously there’s a bit of me that thinks, ‘I wish I was in that team‘, but when you support athletics you support your friends, so it’s great to see. I love the sport as a whole and the fact that I’m not racing really hasn’t taken away my enjoyment.’

That’s what we call the #SALtogether ethos.