National medals for young athletes
SATURDAY and Sunday saw 19 Shetland athletes take four bronze medals in the National Age Group Athletics Championships at Grangemouth Stadium.
In the under-13 boys’ age group, Shetland’s newest representative Ashley (A J) Govier had an exceptional day, finishing second in his 100m heat and automatically qualifying for the final.
After a short rest he ran very well throughout the final, taking bronze in a close finish.
In the under-15 girls’ category Katie Bristow qualified for the 1500m final after taking third place in a strong heat. The final was a tough race, but she came through to take seventh part place overall, three seconds faster than her heat performance.
Megan Smith had a very busy day, taking in three events. In the 100m she finished third on her heat and later in the day she came seventh in an exciting final. Her 75m hurdles final performance was timed at a season’s best and she also ran well in the 200m, finishing fourth in her heat and just missing out on a run in the final.
In the under-15 boys’ age group Rory Goodlad was unlucky to miss out on a personal best distance in the javelin after a good round of throws, which placed him just outside the final eight.
In the under-17 women’s category Emma Leask took bronze in the high jump competition and just missed out on a final place in the 300m, finishing fourth in her heat. She also ran a good time in the 200m and finished in fifth place in her heat.
Inga Woods won a bronze medal with a personal best throw in the javelin and ran well in both of her 100m and 200m heats.
Eilidh Peterson had a great weekend, jumping a new personal best in the triple jump to finish in fourth to finish just out of the medals and taking fifth place in the long jump.
Sophie May Leyland finished in fourth place in the high jump and also made the final of the shot, finishing eighth overall.
Sophie Kelman threw well in the hammer, finishing in seventh place overall, just outside her personal best distance. She also did well in the discus, but was unlucky to finish just outside the final qualification.
Allie Elphinstone made the final of the long jump competition and jumped consistently throughout, finishing in eighth overall, while Sadie Younger ran a big season’s best in the 1500m.
The final bronze medal of the Shetland haul came from Maurice Williamson in the hammer, where he threw three personal bests out of his four throws. He also threw well in the shot, making the final and finishing fifth overall.
Sean Maver was extremely unlucky to finish fourth in the triple jump by just one centimetre, but was consoled by his personal best jump. He also took part in the long jump, but just missed out on the final cut.
Jordan Morrison took sixth place in the final of the triple jump and also threw well in the javelin competition, making the final and finishing eighth in a very strong field.
Bobby Bristow ran another personal best in the 1500m in a performance that makes sure he features in the race for the most personal best performances by a Shetland athlete this season.
Also competing were the under-20 men’s 4x100m relay team, consisting of Stuart Donald, Scott Lawson, Shaun Manson and Gareth Robertson. In a time just outside the Shetland record, they finished fifth overall in a hotly-contested race which, with the exception of the Shetland team, was made up entirely of senior men’s teams.
Shetland throws coach Elaine Park said: “This has been a very successful trip for the Shetland athletes and all the coaches are delighted with their performances.
“To take home four bronze medals from a national championships is a great achievement and the club is now looking forward to the remaining competition left in the outdoor track and field season, which takes place in Inverness in September.
“Thanks must be given to NorthLink for their sponsorship and to the SIC community development section for their grant assistance. A special mention must also go to Gordon for helping the team in their hour of need.”
