SIX club records were broken over the summer following a string of outstanding performances by Corstorphine AAC athletes.
ALICE MOURAO set new benchmarks in both track and field for Under-15 girls. She posted a time of 5mins 28.76secs at the Monument Mile Classic in May.
The versatile competitor followed that up with a massive 19.34m throw in the discus in July, smashing the previous best of 16.69m set in 2015. She then further extended it to 19.86m at the National Age Group Champs at Grangemouth in August.
Alice, 14, who cites Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth medallist Laura Muir as her inspiration, said of her run: “I was just doing the event for fun so a club record was a nice surprise at the end. My target for this year is to run a sub-5 minute 1,500m and the mile time means I’m almost there.
“I like Laura partially because of the similar distances we run, but also because she talks a lot about being a vet as well as competing. As I am someone who likes a lot of different things, it was encouraging to see someone doing both high level competitions and things outside of it as well.”
She added: “I started doing discus at school and enjoyed it so I took the chance to do more at the club. I’m happy about getting the club record and I hope I can throw further.”
Also in the Under-15 girls category, CLARA MACDONALD broke the 26-year-old record in the high jump with an impressive 1.45m leap at the Forth Valley League meet in Grangemouth in June.
It topped the 1.43m set back in 1996.
Clara, 14, took up the event four years ago and has ambitions of being a heptahlete.
She said: “I was hoping to break the record before the end of the season but only had two events left to try to do it. I had a great battle against a girl from Falkirk and that helped me to jump much higher than I thought I would be able to.
“I didn’t win on the day but was delighted to have beaten the record as that was what mattered more to me.
“It has given me confidence and made me less worried about the event after I broke my arm competing last year. I wasn’t too keen to do high jump for a while afterwards but now I’m really enjoying the event again and looking forward to more competitions in the future.”
Fellow Under-15 girl DAISY KEY broke the 100m record for the section with a time of 13.1secs in June.
Her time at the Central & Southern Scotland League event shaved 0.4secs off the previous best of 13.5secs set in 2011.
Daisy’s dad Thomas said: “Daisy is motivated by beating her times. She is driven by success and if she continues to run as she is doing now, then she will potentially move towards taking this more seriously in the future.
“As parents, Daisy has made us both extremely proud. Our original goal, when she took up athletics, was about keeping her healthy and she enjoyed it. With a couple of health conditions, we never thought she could achieve such an outstanding time. But it proves to us that nothing will get in Daisy’s way.”
And CATRIONA FINLAYSON is celebrating a double success in the Vet women’s category, with fastest times in both the 200m and 400m.
Catriona, 43, clocked 32.12secs for the 200m at a meet in Kilmarnock in July, beating the 32.2secs set in 2001. The 400m is a new addition for the age group, meaning her time of 68secs in June 2019 is the benchmark.
She said: “I thought it was quite funny and unexpected to hear I had the records! I joined CAAC about five or six years ago with two of my children, initially hooking up with the endurance squad as I didn’t think people my age still sprinted. I then went to the Central and South of Scotland Athletic League with the children and ran 100m and 400m before deciding to start sprint training again.
“CAAC has a lovely inclusive atmosphere and people are always really encouraging for what you can do yourself, not compared with everyone else. Seeing I could get the records does make me want to try and get a bit fitter and see if I can do better.”
Massive congratulations to all of our record breakers!
Picture credits: Gary Leek