The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Tribute to Highland games champ after tragic death at cattle mart
A FORMER Scottish decathlete and Highland games champion who died in tragic circumstances will be buried in his native Stonehaven.
An inquest has begun into the death of Stephen Aitken, described as one of the best Highland games competitors of his generation, after he died at a Darlington cattle mart.
A former pupil at Mackie Academy, Stonehaven, Mr Aitken (45), who latterly lived in Ingleby Barwick, died following an incident involving a bolt gun. Mraitken, the managing director and chief auctioneer at Darlington auction Mart, was taken to hospital in Middlesbrough but was pronounced dead after arrival. Police are not treating his death as suspicious.
The Scottish Highland Games Association issued a tribute to Mr Aitken, who still excelled in heavy games and made frequent trips to compete in Scotland.
Its statement read: “Scottish Highland games heavyweight enthusiasts throughout the world have been shocked to hear of the sudden and tragic death of Stephen Aitken, one of the leading international heavyweights over the past 25 years.
“Like his father Rob before him, Stephen was an all-rounder and excelled in his youth in running and jumping and won the coveted Donald Dinnie Trophy for the best all-round athlete at Aboyne.”
Mr Aitken, a father of two, studied at the University of Arizona on an athletics scholarship from 1988 to 1990.