CLOSED SENIORS PREVIEW

9th May 2008

The scottishathletics Districts and Closed Senior Championships take place this weekend at Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh (Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th May) kicking off from 10am.

The top track race of the day will undoubtedly be the men's 5000m. ScottishPower National Cross Country Champions at senior, under-20 and under-17 level Mark Pollard (Inverclyde AC), Conor McNulty (Kilbarchan AAC) and Chris O'Hare (Edinburgh AC) will all challenge along with Craig Ruddy (Inverclyde), John Newsom (Pitreavie), Scott McDonald (Central), Chris Mackay (Newham and Essex Beagles) and Scott Hawkins (Kilbarchan).

The senior athletes will be attempting to set some fast times for this early stage in the year, while for the younger athletes it will offer one of the few occasions to earn a Commonwealth Youth Games 5000m qualifying time.

With five gold, three silver and three bronze medals including two Championship Best Performances, two Scottish senior records and one Scottish junior record over the course of the British Universities (BUSA) Championships in Bedford last weekend (3rd - 5th may), it is hoped the trend will continue into the first major event of the Scottish Championship season.

In the men's events only one of the BUSA medallists, Martin Lipton (Kilbarchan AAC) will challenge for a Scottish Closed Senior title. The Scottish Universities and Scottish under-20 400m hurdles champion, having finished third in Bedford in a new personal best of 53.12s, will compete for double gold in the 400m hurdles and the 400m flat at Meadowbank.

Fresh from winning gold and setting a new Championships Record in the BUSA Championships, Eilidh Child (Pitreavie AAC) will be aiming to defend the 400m hurdles title she won in 2007.

Child, Scottish Universities and Scottish Senior 400m hurdles champion, successfully defended her BUSA title from 2007 with a 58.03s performance - a second quicker than her gold medal winning performance 12 months ago and an indication of her form moving into the summer.

Also on the track Gemma Werrett (Rugby AC), Scottish Native record holder over the 60m hurdles indoors and gold medal winner in Bedford over 100m hurdles, will want to add the Scottish Closed Senior title to her 2007 Scottish U23 title. Werrett clocked 13.97s last weekend and is likely to come close to her own personal best of 13.71s if the conditions remain favourable.

In the field events Jayne Nisbet (Edinburgh AC), bronze medallist in the triple jump in the Closed Seniors in 2007, will be going for a hat trick of victories in the high jump, long jump and triple jump.

In the BUSA Championships a week ago Nisbet set a new best outdoors (1.80m) to win gold in the high jump - the event in which she currently hold the Scottish Senior title - while she also secured bronze in the triple jump (12.82m) behind club mate Nony Mordi.

In the high jump she'll come up against junior star Erin Leggate (Victoria Park City of Glasgow), Scottish Under-20 champion and Closed Senior indoor champion, this week selected to represent the GB under-20 team in the Loughborough International on May 18th, while in the triple jump, Mordi, Scottish under-23 and BUSA triple jump champion who won gold in Bedford with an outstanding 13.49m effort - a new Scottish National record - will be the one to beat.

In the women's throws, Stacey Wilson (Edinburgh AC), silver medallist in the BUSA event in the hammer throw with a 49.53m effort, and javelin expert Lisa Glover (Edinburgh AC), Scottish Universities Champion and Scottish Senior Championships silver medallist - who set a new Scottish Junior Record and personal best (46.04m) to finish fourth in the BUSA champs - will be out to build on the their Bedford performances.

Please note that relay squads for the Loughborough International will be picked based on performances at the Scottish Closed Senior Championships - details will follow in a seperate news item.