THE Scottish medal haul at last weekend's British indoor athletics championships in Sheffield - eight including four gold - is a further encouraging sign that legacy is being built on.

Over the two British outdoor and three indoor championships since London 2012, Scots have won 49 medals, 18 of them gold.

In the five UK championships prior to the London Olympics (three outdoor, two indoor) Scots won 31 medals, seven of them gold.

The improvement is nothing short of spectacular. At the indoor championships immediately following London 2012, Scots claimed three medals of each colour, the best performance for 18 years. More Scots are featuring in GB rankings (seven at No.1 in the latest edition) and 15 Scottish records have fallen across all age groups since January 1. Add increasing club memberships and retention of them, more volunteers and coaches being enlisted, plus a rise in championship entries, and we can see very encouraging momentum being generated, and healthier roots.

There were 1097 entries for last weekend's age group championships at the Emirates - almost double the number just three years ago when it was staged at the Kelvin Hall for the last time. But perhaps the most remarkable statistic concerns this weekend's national cross-country championships at Falkirk's Callendar Park. The entry there sits at exactly 25% of that for the English national in London the same weekend. The total Scottish cross-country entry of 2213 is the biggest for 21 years (23% up in just four years) while the women's (331) is the largest ever.

Outdoor UK championships

2010 6 medals

2011 10 medals

2012 9 medals

2013 14 medals

2014 10 medals

Indoor UK championships

2011 3 medals

2012 3 medals

2013 9 medals

2014 8 medals

2015 8 medals

We have already remarked on Kirsten McAslan beating Lynsey Macdonald's 33-year-old senior 600m mark. McAslan goes from strength to strength, taking the UK 400m title on Sunday - one of four secured by Scots in an hour - along with Guy Learmonth, Laura Muir, and Allan Smith.

But another Macdonald record has since fallen: Sarah Eunson of Giffnock North claimed the under-17 800m mark while still aged 15. Macdonald set this in March 1980, four months before winning Olympic relay bronze in Moscow. Eunson has lowered her best by more than 10 seconds during the current indoor season.

At this month's Scottish Schools Indoor Championships (1300 entries), Banchory's Alisha Rees claimed the girls' over-16 200m title by almost a second, trimming 0.03 from Dawn Flockhart's 32-year-old national under-17 record of 24.81 - and the winner of the under-15 200m title, Lauren Greig, won that with a time which bettered Rees performances a year earlier.

Macdonald's 35-year-old Scottish under-17 60m best is also under threat from Rees - just 0.03 away from the time of 7.58sec which the Fife prodigy set in January 1980.

Is it too much to hope that the increase in endurance numbers will eventually translate into an across-the-board rise in quality of performance? Cross-country is the backbone of winter training for every event from 800m to the marathon. The decline in the depth of quality endurance performances in all events matches the decline in the depth and intensity of cross-country competition.

In 1987, last year that the four home nations contested the world cross-country (it's been GB ever since) 48 men (11 Scots) broke 2:20 for the marathon. Last year 17 men broke 2:20 (two Scots). In 1987, at 5000m, 15 men broke 13:40 (one Scot); last year six did so (one Scot). And at 800m in 1987 14 men (one Scot) broke 1:47; last year just four men (one Scot) broke 1:47.

Increasing participation, but also the quality of it, is the key to raising standards. Achieving that will be a real measure of legacy success.