22
Sprint World Orienteering in 2024
World champion
Josh Kerr returns
to his roots
BETWEEN WINNING the world 1500
metres title in Budapest and New York’s
5thAvenue Mile Josh Kerr returned to his
roots, visiting Edinburgh Athletic Club at
their refurbished Meadowbank base.
And the man who also won bronze
medal at the Tokyo Olympics was keen to
acknowledge help and support received
when setting out in the sport.
“The pathway in Scotland was so good
for my own journey” said Josh who went
on to tell ‘Scottish Athletics’.
“I came in at eight years of age and
started making teams at about under-15.
“But it was never a smooth ride, there
are always ups and downs along the way.
Bodies develop in different ways when
you are all kids and young teenagers.
“Having support from Edinburgh AC
and from Scottish Athletics – with
volunteers taking you on buses to the
likes of the London Mini Marathon –
that’s why and how I stayed in the sport.
“And that is key. Staying in when
things get tough is the hard part. I
cannot thank EAC and Scottish Athletics
enough for helping me with that.
“It’s a tough sport: training can be hard
at times, the weather might not be great.
If you don’t stay in the sport, you don’t
enjoy the success.
“Everyone goes through it in the sport,
the difficult moments, but just stay on
the path if you can.
“I’ve huge affection for EAC.
“Every couple of weeks we would be
off to the Young Athletes League
meetings or races around the UK – be
that track or cross country.
“This was a big family feeling to me. I
was really enjoying my running but was
also surrounded by like-minded people- talented young athletes and good
coaching.”
Max
CarcasTHE VOICE OF SPORT
Make mine a treble
Scottish Challenge Cup: Morton cricket team are on a winning streak
[email protected]MEADOWS-BASED Morton cricket club
extended their grip on the Scottish Challenge
Cup to a third year when they defeated
Edinburgh Accies in a final played at
Freuchie, Fife.
Accies were restricted to 74 all out with
Dhayalan Thangavel doing most of the
damage with four wickets.
On the way through Morton defeated
Huntly, Irvine (in which Nithin Lekha took
four wickets at a cost of only nine runs) andGlasgow High/Kelvinside before facing
Edinburgh South in the semi-final.
Here Vaishak Rajagopalan really came good
with his 90 runs part of an aggregate 226 for
the competition.
The Challenge Cup attracted a record 31
teams and Asif Khan, who captained Morton
in the competition, said:
“Making it three in three is very special.
We were consistent in executing our plans
throughout this season. We would like to thankCricket Scotland for organising this
tournament and all the clubs we’ve playedt for
their excellent sportsmanship. We also would
like to thank our club’s sponsor ‘Chennai’s
Marina, Edinburgh’.”
Morton finished runners-up in this season’s
East of Scotland Championship just behind
winners Edinburgh South.
The Challenge Cup, which provided
some consolation, is a level below the full
Scottish Cup.Back row, left to right - V Rajagopalan, N Lekha, B Kumar, S Ajmal, R Anandarao, S Romani and K Suresh. Front row - D Thangavel, A Khan, S Nathan and V JalagandeeswaranEDINBURGH will be the centre
of the orienteering world next
July as athletes descend for the
global Sprint Championships.
According to local stalwart Max
Carcas there will be plenty of
opportunities for locals to get
involved. Max, from the
Interlopers Club, said:“Edinburgh leads the way in the
UK for orienteering especially
with the University of Edinburgh
being strong. Scandinavians in
particular will be out in force for
an urban event running through
streets and alleyways.
“There will be different
courses for different ages. Forthose not familiar with
orienteering running too fast can
mean blowing it with an oxygen
lapse but get the navigation spot
on and it is about running as fast
as you can.”For more information visit:
http://www.woc2024.org