Scots and Irish juniors shine in Bulgaria
Ahmet Arslan takes number 4
The future of British fell running looks likely to be safe in Scots hands after youngsters Robbie Simpson and Catriona Buchanan shone at the this weekend’s European Mountain Running Championships. Ahmet Arslan of Turkey made it 4 in a row in the senior mens event…
Italians Martin Dematteis and Marco De Gasperi chased Arslan home in what was a deep field of European talent. British men found it pretty tough going, with James McMullan the leading runner in 23rd. Vicky Wilkinson showed strong form to claim an excellent 10th in the women’s race, and through good backing from Mary Wilkinson (14th), Lizzie Adams (23rd) and Olivia Walwyn (25th) the British women claimed a creditable 5th place overall.
Robbie Simpson at the Commonwealths 2009
But it was the juniors who showed the way with Simpson in an excellent 5th place, barely a minute behind the winner on the 9km course. He led the British boys to a super bronze medal. With Buchanan running into an excellent 6th place finish, it was quite a day for the British youngsters…
Full results here
The teams gather at the 9th EMRC
Irish Juniors continue to shine at the European Championships
Gerry Brady’s inexperienced side could hold their heads high after solid performances at this weekend’s European Championships and the IMRA High Performance Officer was understandably wholesome in his praise of the team:
Emmet Jennings was a fantastic ninth place in the junior men. Our previous best junior men’s placing in the Europeans was Michael Dowling in 30th in France in 2007….
Karen Alexander started competitively in the senior women, had a rough patch mid-race and then recovered well for 35th which is our highest individual placing since Beth McCluskey was 23rd in Poland in 2004. Sharon Bird came through the field really well and at one stage was 50 metres ahead of Karen only to suffer on the climb on the second lap. The experience will stand her well for future championships. Suzanne Kenny and Denise Ryan both worked their way through with Suzanne finishing strongly for 49th place…
Gary O’Hanlon went off with the leaders and looked very comfortable in the early stages. However the climbs slowly took their toll but he held on well for 44th which compares well with performances of recent years where 35th by Stephen Duncan in 2008 was the best placing. Brian Furey, Philip Harty and James Doran will all have benefited from the experience. Philip went out hard while Brian came through well. The temperature had risen to 25 degrees for the senior men and it took a toll in the second half of the race.
Interestingly the Spanish winner of the European Masters in May, Vicente Capitan, was 19th. In Barcelona Stephen Duncan and Barry Minnock had followed him home in 2nd and 3rd.
Minnock and Duncan to show their colours for Ireland in the World Championship? Either way, with seasoned forces waiting in the wings and valuable experience gained by the newer internationals, the World Trial on the 7th of August, could prove a tightly contested affair.
Full report and photos at IMRA.
