Kirsty Law aims to break a long-standing national record when she bids for her 13th senior women’s discus title in this weekend’s Scottish track and field championships at Grangemouth stadium.
The Loughborough-based Inverness Harriers club member is gunning for the championship best performance of 57.32m set by double Olympian and 1982 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Meg Ritchie 39 years ago.
Law is currently in the best form of her life, having improved her personal best to 59.95m when competing in Portugal last weekend. Ritchie is the only Scot to have thrown further, her national record of 67.48m being set at Walnut, California in 1981.
Despite her remarkable collection of gold medals, Law admits she has never quite hit the high spots at the national championships, as her best winning throw of 54.54m came in 2017.
She said: “I’ve got to put my demons to bed at Scottish championships as I never seem to throw particularly well there.
“But I’m convinced I can go over 60m before the season is over, so we’ll see what happens. I just hope the conditions are decent.”
It has been a roller coaster of a summer for the 34-year-old two-time British champion, who couldn’t quite reach the Olympic qualifying standard.
She chose the Olympic trials and British championships in Manchester for her worst performance of the year, finishing fourth with a modest 52.73.
She said: “It took me a long time to get over that, but I’m back throwing well again. I’ve done a lot of competitions this year, probably too many, but I’ve improved my personal best by two metres, which isn’t at all bad.
“I was really pleased with my throw in Portugal last weekend. I could see it hit the 60m line, but I knew it hadn’t quite got there.”
Roisin Harrison (Aberdeen AAC) defends the women’s 200m title she won in 2019, but the former Ireland junior international has also entered the 100m.
Rachel MacLennan (Inverness Harriers) competes in the women’s hammer, an event in which she has improved her best throw by close to four metres this summer.
Claire McGarvey should be challenging for a podium position in the high jump. The Banchory Stonehaven AC member is hitting best form at the right time, having set a season’s best of 1.73m at Kilmarnock last month.
Meanwhile, Aberdeen AAC’s Catriona Pennet has entered the 100m hurdles. The veteran competitor has a remarkable record in this event, having earned one gold, eight silvers and two bronzes over the past 18 years. She’s joined in the line-up by her young clubmates Jane Davidson and Briagha Cook.
Aberdeen’s Hannah Cameron (800m) and Zoe Bates (1500m), and East Sutherland’s Constance Nankivell (5,000m) will also be looking for strong performances.
Mackenzie decides next stage of development will take place in Scotland following States stint
Ullapool’s Great Britain junior international Stephen Mackenzie will compete in the long jump at this weekend’s Scottish championships after returning home from Oklahoma State University.
The 19-year-old’s US season was curtailed by a knee injury and he has now decided that his future lies in Scotland.
He said: “I’m not going to go back over to the States. I have instead accepted a transfer into year two at Heriot Watt University to finish my studies and continue athletics.”
Mackenzie, bronze medallist when the championships were last held, in 2019, isn’t back to full fitness yet, but will put himself to the test at Grangemouth.
He added: “I think it will be a good idea to get some short approach long jump in as a starting point and a base before heading into winter training. My recovery is going well, but I’m not quite there yet.”
Mackenzie’s opponents include Aberdeen AAC’s Robbie Farquhar, who won the Scottish indoor under-20 title in 2020.
Nairn’s Will Hodi, who last month won the Scottish decathlon title, is to compete in the triple jump.
The teenager won the national under-17 triple jump title in 2019, and has made good progress since then. He set his PB of 14.08 in May and that gives the 17-year-old fourth position in this year’s senior men’s rankings.
Scotland international and well-known Highland Games athlete Sinclair Patience is to tackle the men’s shot put and discus.
Aberdeen’s Ferguson in uphill task to defend 1500m crown
Michael Ferguson faces a tough challenge when he defends the 1500m title in the 128th Scottish men’s track and field championships this weekend.
The Aberdeen AAC runner is third ranked of those taking part with a best time of 3:47.90 this year, with Ben Potrykus (Inverclyde AC, 3:43.00) and Ben MacMillan (Central AC, 3:44.00) both having posted faster times.
Finlay Todd (Ross County) has made a major breakthrough this summer, reducing his best time to an impressive 3:48.77 and a repeat of that level of performance would put him in the frame for a podium position.
Aberdeen AAC’s Myles Edwards, the 2015 champion, is also taking part and his confidence will have been boosted by a fine 3,000m win at a UK athletics league meeting last weekend.
Inverness athlete Andrew McFarlane, who represents Shettleston Harriers, is to compete in the pole vault, the event in which he was bronze medallist in 2019. He’s also signed up for the javelin.
Strathpeffer’s Hamish Hickey has a chance of a medal in the 5,000m in which Inverness Campus 5k winner Jamie Crowe (Central AC) is favourite for gold, while Luke Davidson (Inverness Harriers) will aim to make his mark in the 800m.
Aberdeen AAC’s Kai Crawford is one of the top north-east youngsters taking part in the national under-17 championships also taking place at Grangemouth. He’ll compete in the 800m alongside younger brother Rhys.
Zak Fearn (Ross County) is among the favourites to win the javelin.
Elgin’s Tamsin Fowlie should do well in the girls’ 100m and 200m, while Stroma Fraser (Inverness Harriers) bids for success in the 80m hurdles and 300m hurdles.
https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/sport/local-sport/athletics-aberdeen-olympian-zoey-clark-set-to-turn-attention-to-achieving-further-success-at-paris-2024-games/
