The Magnificent Seven (plus two)
Forth Valley Orienteers enjoyed a fantastic end to the major domestic season, as club athletes claimed seven medals in the British Sprint Championships in Bristol, as well as two gongs in the relay.
The relay was moved up to be the first event of the weekend, and for the first time, FVO won the junior race. Fraser Cheyne (16.44) had the team in contention on the opening leg, where he was 3rd, but Esme Finch then broke the race wide open, taking back five minutes on the middle leg (16.03) to give Lucas Baikie the chance to run for home.
Rather than going all guns blazing, Lucas was cautious with his navigation, and took time to check each code, and although he was only 5th quickest on the closer (17.39) the job was done and in style, as the Flying Juniors were back in the paddock in 50.26, for an evential lead of 93 seconds.
The Vets were the first to strike success in the opening race of the day, and Roger Goddard (16.26), Rachel Kirkland (15.13) and Will Hensman (15.44) each had the 3rd quickest time on their leg to collect the silver medal, while the SuperVets were one second off the bronze medal in their race, after a strong closing leg from Mark Wood.
The Individual Sprint brought seven more medals for local athletes, as Peter Molloy cemented his place as the #1 British sprinter, coming home in 15.18 to show goodform ahead of the World Championships next month.
Esme Finch, meanwhile, banished a major ghost with a superb W14 gold medal. Last year, Esme was the leading qualifier for the Sprint final, but made an early error and finished 6th. This time around, she was once again quickest in qualifying, but there was no slipup on this occasion, as she was way ahead of the field, back in 17.14 with a lead of nearly 45 seconds.
There was a blue and gold 1-2 in W55, where Rachel Kirkland claimed her third British Sprint crown, in 14.18, from first-timer Rona Molloy (15.12), Andy Llewellyn had to settle for silver in M35 (16.39) after back to back wins, and Will Hensman now has one of each colour in the Sprint, as he took M45 bronze (16.24).
The final medal of the day came in M16, where Lucas Baikie (18.03) was ahead of Fraser Cheyne (18.43) for the bronze.
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Credit: Edward Lines
Credit: Robert Lines
Credit: Edward Lines
Credit: Robert Lines
Credit: Robert Lines