Rees raring to go in race to seal Team GB place

Banchory Stonehaven AC’s Alisha Rees aims to secure her place on the Great Britain team for next month’s world junior athletics championships in Finland when she competes in the national team trials at Bedford this weekend.

Rees, who is in her first year studying sociology at Loughborough University, has already achieved the 100m and 200m qualifying standards and victory in either sprint at the Bedford meeting, which is also the English championship event, would secure her automatic qualification.

Rees said: “I won’t be able to double-up at the world championships, so I have decided to run the 200 this weekend.”

Aberdeen AAC’s Naomi Lang also has world championship selection on her mind in the 1,500m.

The Edinburgh University student, who recently won the Scottish under-20 3,000m title, has a best 1,500m time of 4:20.92 set at Watford last month. That’s a little under 5sec outside the standard required for a place on the team. Anna Macfadyen (Forres Harriers), who has been selected to represent Great Britain in next month’s European mountain running championships in Macedonia, is to compete in the 3,000m.

Other north-east athletes hoping to do well include Banchory Stonehaven AC’s Craig Strachan (200m), Maddy Silcok (100m) and Claire McGarvey (high jump).

Andrew McFarlane (Ross County) will tackle the pole vault and javelin, Seumas Mackay (Shetland) goes in the 800m and Paddy Dunne (Inverness Harriers) in the throws.

Meanwhile, Scottish over-40 marathon champion Tom Roche (Garioch Gazelles) will challenge two-time previous winner Keith Buchan (Fraserburgh) for supremacy in tomorrow’s Peterhead half marathon in which Hazel Wyness (Metro Aberdeen) is among the favourites for the women’s title.

Cameron Strachan (Metro Aberdeen) and Shelly Duncan (Peterhead AC) are among the leading entrants for the accompanying 5km. l

“Achieved the 100m and 200m qualifying standards”

Alisha Rees: Aiming for place in worlds squad