by Our Sports Desk

Scotland’s 13-year-old Commonwealth Games hero Erraid Davies has been told she should target the Paralympics in Rio.

The next stop for the Shetland teenager will be age-group national championships in Sheffield next week, but her coach back home sees bigger targets on the horizon.

Davies became an instant Scottish crowd favourite when she won bronze at Glasgow 2014 on Sunday night in the para-sport 100 metres breaststroke.

Already her country’s youngest ever team member at a Commonwealth Games, she finished strongly just behind Australian silver medallist Madeleine Scott in one minute and 21.38 seconds, with New Zealand’s Sophie Pascoe taking gold.

Coach Lorraine Gifford now feels that Rio 2016 is a realistic target for the swimmer.

She said: “I think she’ll cope with everything. It’s great that she’s done this. I hope she’s enjoying herself.

“I think she can go to Rio for the Olympics. This has been the shot to launch her international career.”

Erraid, who had a beaming smile on the podium after receiving her bronze medal, said: “I was just really happy — I didn’t expect it. All I wanted was a PB. I got a medal and I am so happy. I am feeling really, really happy.”

The teenager admitted to a quick glance at where her rivals were as she closed in on her bronze.

“I did look in the last 10 metres, which I shouldn’t have done,” she said.

Asked how she had celebrated her win, she replied: “My mum and dad were just really happy and I got a huge hug and a ‘well done’.

“When we got back we went to the dining hall of the hotel and I had some Irn-Bru.”

Recalling how she got into the sport, she added: “I started swimming when I was four. I trained in Sandwick and moved to Brae three or four years ago. The pool in Brae is a lot smaller than what I was swimming in last night. There are a lot more turns.”

And her dad was just as pleased as Erraid.

He said: “I was crying. I was shouting. It was just an amazing feeling. I can’t say I’ve felt like that since perhaps she was born.”

When asked what she felt she could achieve in her sport, Erraid said: “I don’t know. I am just going to keep on swimming and see where it gets me.’’