English National Athletics Championship Success for Elgin Athletes - Birmingham - 26th and 27th August 2023
Posted by Amanda Forgie on 29 August 2023
The English National Athletics Championships were held on the 26th and 27th of August in Alexander Stadium, Birmingham (where last year’s Commonwealth Games were hosted).
Budding athletes, Holly Whittaker(U15G) and Anna Reid ( in her first year of U17W), made the 1000 mile round trip from Elgin to compete in Birmingham against girls from all over the UK. Anna Reid is currently the joint top performing high jumper in Scotland, having won the title of U17W Scottish National Champion in mid August. Holly Whittaker is currently the top performing 75m Hurdler and Long Jumper in Scotland for her age group. She too, is a Scottish National Champion in both Long Jump and 75mH, having won Gold in both events at the Scottish National Athletics Championship one week before this event.
The action for Anna took place on Saturday the 26th August. Anna competed in U17W High Jump. With a fantastic jump of 1.64m, Anna placed 4th out of a pool of ten girls. She was within a whisker of clearing 1.67 which would have won her the bronze medal. Anna, who is 15 years old, is currently ranked equal 1st in Scotland for her age category. She is also no.6 in the overall Scottish Rankings.
The action for Holly began on day 2 with Long Jump. Holly was one of 18 competitors who took part in the U15 long jump which contained all of England’s top 5 ranked long jumpers, the top 3 Welsh athletes, Scotland’s top 2 and the no.1 from the Republic of Ireland. Holly finished 5th with a jump of 5.50 metres, a pb which consolidates her Scottish U15 no.1 ranking and moves her up to 9th on the Scottish women’s rankings.
Holly then competed in the U15 75m Hurdles, Holly won her heat to safely qualify for the final. She then won the final with a time of 11.21 seconds to become the English Champion to add to the Scottish Champion title she won the previous weekend in Aberdeen. The time of 11.21 seconds moves her up to no.4 on the Scottish ‘All Time’ rankings list. This year Holly has claimed both Scottish and English Indoor hurdles titles and now both Scottish and English Outdoor titles as well as the Scottish Schools title.
Just a few minutes after Holly’s final. Lois MacRae from Inverness Harriers claimed the U15 1500 metres title with a fantastic run in a time of 4 minutes 36.70 seconds, which gave the two of them a chance to enjoy their victories together.
We are all so proud of you both! With the wonder of technology, many Elgin athletes and their families were able to follow your progress as you competed with live results and live streaming. Exciting times ahead....