Welsh score medal hat-trick at Celtic Cup
Scotland successfully defended the Bank of Scotland Celtic Cup last night in Grangemouth, putting on a well-deserved show for the large crowd who got behind them, showing passion and enthusiasm throughout the evening's proceedings.
Craig Mottram was undoubtedly the star of the show. The Australian, who was up against Scottish form athlete Andrew Lemoncello dramatically smashed the four-minute barrier for the Bank of Scotland Dream Mile as he clocked 3:56.89 after an exceptional final two laps which saw him come off the first 800m in 2:02.00. In doing so, he claimed the Grangemouth Stadium record in convincing fashion, wiping out the 4:02.00 set by Nat Muir in 1982.
Rhys Williams took silver in the javelin with a throw of 65.64m but could not overthrow the dominance of the Scot James Campbell. The 25-year-old is a former UWIC student and won the Welsh Championship title in 2006.
Lucy Evans – a 24-year-old part time Masters student based in Chester – successfully added to the Welsh tally by clinching bronze in the 100m. She recently did the double at the Welsh Championships taking gold in the 100m and 200m.
Swansea’s Ceri Stokoe, 25, grabbed the bronze in the women’s high jump by clearing 1.70m. Swansea’s Non Stanford was up against the might of Sonia O’Sullivan in the 3000m. The Irish distance running legend made her last ever UK track appearance at Grangemouth but it didn’t go quite as planned. She finished fourth with Stanford just two spots behind. The 18-year-old, who currently awaits her A-level results and is hoping to study in Birmingham, is making a comeback from injury: “I damaged my hip cartilage which has wrecked my season so it’s good to be back in action.”
