Tayside & Fife Athletes Shine in Gothenburg

Scotland took a small team of sprinters to Gothenburg, Sweden, last weekend (29th June - 1st July) to compete in the Gothenburg Youth Games. The five athletes, all members of Pitreavie, came away with quality performances and there was a total of 6 personal best performances.

Ryan Oswald ran in the Under 19 events where he recorded two PBs in winning both the 100m and 200m with times of 10.74s (wind 0.4m/s) and 21.50s (wind 0.0) respectively. In the Senior Men's 100m it was a one two with Nick Smith winning in 10.59s from Jamie Coull who clocked a lifetime best of 10.71s (wind -0.4m/s). Meanwhile Stacey Downie recorded a fine personal best of 12.09s to place 6th in the final of the women's 100m (wind 0.2m/s).

In the 200m Coull smashed his personal best to record 21.39s to place 3rd in the final (wind 1.5m/s). Francis Smith also contested the final and placed 6th in a time of 22.13s (21.98s in heat). This represented a great breakthrough for Jamie who ahs been performing with distinction all summer but without be fortunate enough to run in good conditions. On the fast Gothenburg track with the sun on his back he showed what great strides he has made this year. Stacey Downie also returned to the track for the 200m and ran another personal best of 24.18s to place 3rd (wind 1.0m/s) a week after finishing second in the England Athletics Under 23 Championships in Bedford.

Frances Smith ran the 400m Hurdles where he recorded a season's best time in finishing 3rd in a time of 51.70s. This is only just outside Frances's PB and represents a real return to form at juts the right time of the season.

The men collaborated to compete in the 4x100m relay to beat several good teams and win the race in a time of 41.55s. This team are gaining experience all the time as it was the same team who ran for Scotland in the recent Grand Prix at Scotstoun where they beat the Portuguese national team.