National medals for athletes
TALENTED athletes with Dunfermline Track and Field Club were in the medals at a national competition recently.
A healthy contingent of club members took part in the 4J Studios scottishathletics Senior/ Under-17 Championships in Aberdeen, coming home with three gold, five silver and two bronze gongs.
On the first of the twoday competition, Shayna Asamoah and Sophie
Thomas began the medal rush by picking up silver and bronze in the under-17 women’s 100 metres.
After posting a PB – and new female club record for the distance – of 12.23 seconds in her semi-final, Shayna crossed the line with her under-15 age group clubmate in 12.37 but just edged Sophie to second place.
Darcie Black joined them on the podium in the high jump, clearing 1.53 metres on her way to a bronze medal, before she added a gold medal on day two in the long jump with a leap of 5.22m.
Mya McMahon, with a jump of 5.18m, ensured a Dunfermline one-two as she collected silver, the same colour of medal that Darcie won in the 80m hurdles (12.14) to complete a hattrick of gongs.
The club also secured gold and silver in the men’s under-17 high jump, with Matthew Tait (1.83m) taking top spot, followed closely by Callum Newton (1.80m), who added a second silver medal of his championships in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.96.
Concluding a successful meet for the club was Shayna who, in the 200m, set a new under-17 women’s outdoor club record of 25.26 on her way to a gold medal.
Outwith the medals, there were plenty of fine performances, including from Kirstin Penman, who reached the 300m hurdles final in what was her first competitive attempt at the event.
After finishing third in her semi-final, in 49.22, she set a new best of 49.20 to place sixth in the final, which she repeated in the 80m hurdles, finishing in a time of 13.37, while she just missed out on a finals hat-trick in the long jump.
Mark Harley, although missing out on the final in a competitive field, finished just outside his PB in the 800m heats, running a time of 2:13.53, while David Cuthbert and Munro Strachan (4:37.20) ran in the 1500m heats. They both missed out on a place in the final but David’s time of 4:26.48 was a new PB.