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4 days ago

Scottish Under 17 Championships
Grangemouth, 17th/18th August 2019

In the Scottish under 17 championships Central AC’s hurdlers were at the fore with club athletes winning 3 medals through a sprint hurdles 1-2 from Balfron sisters Coirilidh and Briagha Cook and a silver from Denny teenager, Daniel Bruce over the one lap hurdles.
In the girls 80m hurdles the preparation for the event for Coirlidh and Briagha could not have been more contrasting. Coirilidh, the younger sister at 15, came into the event as the top ranked in the field and unbeaten in Scotland this season. However the main story for the Balfron based family was the return of her 16 year old older sister Briagha after a long 15 month injury lay off. The pair of them had previously both been winning national titles in their respective age groups, but Briagha’s career had abruptly been put on hold after she picked up a serious foot injury in early 2018. This meant while Coirilidh had been winning multiple national titles, Briagha had been forced to cheer from the sidelines as she went through a lengthy rehab process including 2 operations. Briagha finally made her first tentative steps back to competition only 10 days ago and came through strongly with a personal best 12.01s putting her top 5 in Scotland showing she was ready to take on a national championships. In contrast, Coirilidh’s preparations had been much more to plan with wins at the Scottish indoor & Scottish schools championships. She was looking to complete the set with the Scottish outdoor title.
In the heats Coirilidh and Briagha were drawn in the same heat and came through 1st & 2nd to take automatic qualifying places for the final as Coirilidh ran 11.95s and Briagha, a new personal best 12.00s, to qualify with the fastest 2 times.
When the final came the rain was starting to come down and the wind constantly changing making conditions difficult. When the gun went Coirilidh shot out and found herself in a battle with an athlete from Morpeth. Briagha had opted to not use starting block as she was still protective about her foot, and found herself adrift in 3rd place, but gradually picked up speed. Coirilidh started establishing a lead and pulled clear to take the win. But behind her Briagha was in full stride and gradually reeled in the Morpeth Harrier then pull ahead after the final hurdle to take an unexpected silver medal making it a 1-2 for Central AC and the family.
Coirilidh had stopped the clock in a superb new personal best 11.77s earning her a gold medal and gold award standard while Briagha had dipped below 12 seconds for the first time ever with a personal best 11.92s. Afterwards the sisters were delighted to finish in a 1-2 together. For Coirilidh it was another national title after a fantastic season. For Briagha though it was a return she thought might never happen. She commented “I was just thinking on the start line would I get over the first hurdle?” She certainly did that and a lot more and can hopefully inspire others going through injury problems that with patience and perseverance you can come back and be a medal winner again. They will take on the Central AC club championships next week then travel to Bedford for the UK championships the following week.
Daniel Bruce was contesting what many regard the toughest of events, the 400m hurdles. Due to an admin error Daniel had been unable to contest the Scottish schools but as the 2nd ranked in Scotland with a best time of 58.97s, he was looking to show what he could do. His main rival from Dundee set off strongly and established a big lead and Daniel found himself if a 3-way tussle for the other medals. But Daniel dug in and ran a strong 2nd bend to pull clear in to 2nd place then in the home straight set about chasing down the leader. Ultimately, his opponent had too much of a lead to catch, but Daniel finished strongly to take the silver medal in a superb time of 57.93s, smashing his previous best by over a second. Last year Daniel had won a Scottish schools bronze but this was a proud moment as he won his first ever medal at a national championships. Daniel went on to show his versatility as he placed 7th in high jump with 1.62m and 9th in long jump with 5.75m.
And there were nearly more medals for Central in the hurdles. Celtic games international, Daniel Ferguson, was contesting the 100m hurdles. He started strongly and while the top 3 were too fast for him, he was rewarded with a 4th place and personal best 14.23s.
Amy Gibson was competing for the first time ever in the girls high jump and had the daunting task of taking on the best in Scotland. She managed 1.42m for 7th but with more training and experience will look to come back and challenge for the podium next year.
Lewis Dow placed 10th in a tactical 1500m in 4:23.14 minutes. Sam Grivell managed 4:49.80 at 1500m and 2:23.82 at 800m.
In the sprints Lucy More was not far off the 100m final after 13.29s in her heat then ran 28.11s into a headwind in the 200m.
This brings to the end 2 weekends of Scottish championship action. Congratulations to all Central’s athletes after a successful set of results. The season is not over yet though with the club championships next weekend and the final opportunity for national medals this season with the Scottish relay championships in September. ...

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Central Athletics

4 days ago

127th Scottish National Championships
Grangemouth, 17th/18th August 2019

Central ACs senior athletes were on top form at the 127th Scottish national championships held at Grangemouth over the weekend. In changeable blustery conditions fast times were hard to come by but Central won a brace of silvers in the men and women’s 5000m along with a hurdles medal.
Fanni Gyurko was contesting the women’s 5000m on the Saturday. Fanni has been a Central member for several years since moving from her native Hungary to Dunblane and has clocked up some impressive marathon performances, setting the club record at 2 hours 39 minutes in Frankfurt 2 years ago. She was stepping down to 5000m as preparation for upcoming marathons in Budapest in September and Frankfurt in October. In a tactical race Annabelle Simpson of Fife proved too strong as she set a new championship record but Fanni stuck to her race plan and finished in the silver medal position with a time of 17 minutes 22.23 seconds.
The men’s 5000m was run on the Sunday in wet blustery conditions where Jamie Crowe and Ali Hay lined up for Central. Jamie has just returned from a scholarship at Lamar University in America where he has run some impressive times while Ali is a former Scottish champion and Commonwealth Games finalist so both were looking for a podium spot. In another fast race both Central athletes stuck with the pace. Christian Jones of Dundee ultimately proved too strong and set a new championship record but Jamie Crowe stuck behind him and took silver in 14 minutes 28.93 seconds, a time also inside the previous championship record. Ali was just outside the medals in 4th with 14:40.22 minutes, both impressive times in difficult conditions.
Afterwards Jamie commented, “I’m pleased to get the medal but it was rough out there! It’s been a long season. I’ve been racing since March so will take some time off now before the cross country starts. But I’m happy with my season.”
Jack Houghton was returning to Grangemouth a week after winning the Scottish Junior 400m hurdles title, this time looking to take on Scotland’s senior athletes. In a top class 400m hurdles race the top 3 were too good for Jack but he held his stride to finish in 4th with 57.08s, an respectable place against a top class field. However, he was not finished there and returned an hour later to take on the 110m hurdles. And here he did manage to get on the podium as he ran 16.81 seconds, a personal best at the senior height, to place 3rd and win the bronze medal, Jack’s first ever national senior medal.
There were several other good performances. Stirling marathon champion, Michael Wright, placed 5th in the 3000m steeplechase in 9:46.22. Personal bests were rare in the difficult conditions but Iain Davies managed 2 of them at 800m, with 1:55.33 in his heat then 1:55.19 in the final to place 7th in a fast race won in 1:48. Jack Kerr’s 1:58.88 minutes in his 800m heat was not quite enough to progress. In the 5000m B race Hamish Hickey placed 3rd in a time of 15:25.65 minutes.
In the sprints Ian Horsburgh placed 5th in the 200m final with 22.67s (22.60s in heat), an impressive result from an athlete who is now in the Masters category where he is ranked one of the top in Europe in his age group. Kieran Halliday set a new personal best in the 100m with 11.62s to progress to the semi finals then ran 23.76s in the 200m.
Peter Muirhead had a tough time in the long jump with the changing conditions making run ups difficult but managed to get over the 7 metre mark in the long jump with 7.10m for a respectable 7th.
Overall it was good to see Central’s senior athletes taking on the best and setting a good example to the clubs younger athletes. ...

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Central Athletics

2 weeks ago

Scottish Under 20 Championships
Grangemouth, 10th/11th August 2019

Jack Houghton was on superb form as he became Scottish junior 400m hurdles champion at the Scottish under 20 championships at Grangemouth at the weekend. The 19 year old from Dunblane has had an excellent season so far after setting 2 new club under 20 records this season and just missing the UK championship final in June. Jack has been a Central AC member for many years and has won Scottish schools titles but a Scottish championship title has so far eluded him. His first attempt at the under 20 championships 2 years ago did not go to plan as he lost his stride and hit several hurdles. However this year, with 2 years more experience he was looking to finally land a Scottish gold medal. When the gun went he set out strongly holding his 15 stride pattern all the way up the back straight to open up a 5 metre gap on the opposition. However on the bend, as he changed his stride down, he was challenged by the athlete on the lane outside him. However he held his form and his stride up the home straight and after negotiating the final hurdles, surged away from the field to win with an excellent 55.33 seconds. This not only improved his personal best and club under 20 record but this moved him up to 3rd on the club senior all time list. This was significant as it beat his coach, Kenny Pearson’s lifetime best and former club record of 55.47s. Jack will compete at the senior championships next week with realistic podium ambitions and will also be targeting the club senior record of 55.1s.
There was further success for the club in the 1500 metres races. The men’s event saw 3 Central athletes taking part. In the heats Hamish Hickey ran a personal best 4:11.95 seconds to just miss a final spot. However Ben MacMillan (4:06.58) and Sandy Holl (4:06.61) both managed to get through their heat and qualify for the final.
In the final Ben hung onto the leaders as long as he could. When the bell came he found himself in 4th place and dug in for the final lap. He didn’t manage to make any headway on the top 3 but held off the rest of the field to finish an excellent 4th with 4:02.01 minutes.
In the women’s race Lauren McCulloch found herself in a similar position and held on for 4th place with an excellent new personal best 4:41.21 minutes. ...