Mucho Medals
Medals, medals everywhere as a third of the large FVO team in the Scottish Championships at Grandtully ended the day on their class podium.
Simon Downie was initially entered in the Yellow class, but elected to drop his shadower and took a sensational debut win in M10A in 25.03. There are club 1-2s in both M45L and M50L, where Will Hensman claimed the younger age group title, his eighth in 10 years in 64.52, with Steve Feltbower in with the silver (76.56) and Dave Godfree (58.46) ahead of Marcus Pinker (65.27) in M50L. Andy Llewellyn, meanwhile, had a lead of over 30 minutes to take his third title in M35 in 82.05.
There are six national champions in the FVO ladies stable, as Hannah Inman overcame a fitness worry to win W14A in 35.36, and Scarlett Kelly scored a big win to take the W18E ttile (68.09).
Sarah Rollins was in for her competitive Scottish Champs debut, and moved ever closer to a century of major championship medals as she headed W50L in 55.44. Joey Inch went one better than last year, by winning W55L in 50.57, with Rona Molloy (54.03) also on the podium, in bronze.
Hazel Dean loves this event, and her win in W60L (44.19) is her ninth in the championship since 2011, as Louise Longhurst had her best-ever result with the class bronze in 53.42. Having taken 70 years to get onto the podium, Lindsey Hensman now has a taste for the silverware, and regained the W75L title she lost last year in 46.03.
There were also silvers for Clare Stansfield, as the W21 Scots Native (113.22), Leo Lockyer in M12A (43.46) and Fiona Berrow in W40L (94.05) and bronzes for Freya McLennan in W10A (36.18), Matthew Owen in M14A (50.10), Fraser Chyene in M16A (57.00) and Helena Carey in W45L (123.14).
On the Short courses, there are top places for Brad Connor (M55), Dave Coustick (M80), Lucy Finch (W12), Sullivan Crossley (M16) and Val Finch (W75), Jack Cheyne (M45), Ted Finch (M75), Rona Lockyer (W45) and Neil Conway (M55) were second and Alison McQuillen (W55) was 3rd.
The success extended to the colour-coded classes, where Gary Longhurst (43.08) and Lindsay Finch (45.54) topped Light Green and Orange respectively, with Helen Teed (68.31) 3rd on Light Green, and there were event PBs for Aurora Lockyer, Mark Holliday, Fanni Gyurkó, Rob Truswell and Liz Owen.