Aberdeen sprinter Zoey Clark felt she had done herself proud after making the final of the 400m at the Commonwealth Games.
Clark came eighth in the final in a time of 51.90s in her first final of three Games appearances.
She set off well from the inside lane, closing the gap on her competitors along the back straight but tired as the race entered the final 100m.
It might not have been the result she wanted but Clark feels she has shown progress at each Games she has featured at, since debuting at Glasgow in 2014.
“Lane two is always a bit tricky,” said Clark. “I just needed to keep myself in the race, which I didn’t really do in the semi-final.
“I think I did that but maybe burnt myself out a little bit too soon. I didn’t have the strong finish I had earlier in the competition, which was a bit disappointing. But it’s the Commonwealth Games final, it’s how it goes sometimes.
ZOEY EIGHTH IN FINAL#SALtogether#B2022
Great to see @_ZoeyClark race Women's 400m final today @Team_Scotland @birminghamcg22 with 51.90 for 8th place#SALbelong@AberdeenAAC @aberdeenlive_ @PandJSport @Tyrone_M_Smith @SALChiefExec @SAL_Coaching pic.twitter.com/s4lBDcG6Xc— scottishathletics (@scotathletics) August 7, 2022
“It was nice conditions for it and everyone raised their game. It’s nice to see such a competitive field.
“Coming into this competition, making the final was my goal and I’m really thrilled to do that. I definitely think I’ve done myself proud.
“Every single time I’ve come to the Commonwealth Games, I’ve made a little bit more progress. So you never know, if I’m around for the next one, maybe I can do one more.”
Clark was back in action later in the evening for the 4x400m relay, with Scotland taking fourth in a time of 3:30.15.
North sprint trio Alisha Rees, Rebecca Matheson and Taylah Spence came eighth in the women’s 4x100m relay final, alongside Sarah Malone, after qualifying third from their semi-final.
The quartet set a time of 45.01s in a strong final, which was taken by Nigeria just ahead of England and Jamaica.
“I think there’s lots of positives to take,” said Rees. “We’re a Scottish relay team that made the final of the Commonwealth Games. We’ve really made history.
“Although we’re maybe not as quick as we wanted to, we can go home proud knowing that we’ve made history today.”
Spence added: “It’s been a steep learning curve and to do it with these lasses is superb. We’ve been running against each other for years growing up so to be here as a team, at the Commonwealth Games and making a final, we’re so proud.”
In the aquatics centre, Aberdeen diver Clara Kerr set a personal-best score of 264.00 in the 3m springboard final, to finish 11th.
The 18-year-old took a lot from the experience and she still has one more competition to go, with the mixed synchronised 3m springboard final on Monday alongside Danny Mabbott.
“I’m just so happy,” said Kerr. “To get into a final was amazing and to make the changes I wanted to – it’s exciting to do that in front of friends and family.
“It’s been really great competing against such amazing girls, seeing how they compose themselves and how they compete. It’s been good taking little things from it.
“I’ve been making sure I enjoy it. I came here more for the experience and the more I try enjoy myself, the better the diving goes. I put less pressure on and have fun.”
