TWO East Lothian athletes have enjoyed success at a prestigious international event in Belfast over the weekend.
Former Dunbar Grammar School pupil Corey Campbell, who now attends George Heriot’s in Edinburgh, and Aidan Page, who attends Dunbar Grammar School, were part of the Scotland squad at the Track and Field Schools International Championships.
The event was held at the iconic Mary Peters Track on the 50th anniversary of Mary winning her gold medal at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
The SIAB International is a very significant event for athletes, giving them the chance to represent their country, and is often a stepping stone for greater things.
Campbell, just days off the plane from his trip to Israel in the European Under-18 Championships, stepped up in distance from the 1,500m to the 3,000m.
The teenage athlete from Dunbar sat comfortably in second place for most of the laps, planning his kick to perfection.
Finally, with about 200m to go, he eased into the lead and continued to build up his speed to finish fast, winning gold for Team Scotland in a time of 8m25.70s – more than seven seconds ahead of his nearest rival, England’s James Dargen.
Meanwhile, Page was representing Scotland in the 1,500m event, which set off at a blistering pace.
Athletes went through the first 400m in a time of about 60 seconds and Page worked hard to stay with the pack.
The fast pace continued and they went through the 800m mark at about two minutes and three seconds – the same time as the Women’s World Championships final in Oregon, where Scotland’s Laura Muir took bronze.
The winner, Henry Dover from England, set a new championship record with his time of 3m51.64s – a time even faster than world champion Faith Kipyegon from Kenya.
Team East Lothian athlete Page maintained his effort well to finish strongly with a personal best time of 4m00.68s and fifth place.
Scottish team-mate Oliver Paton ran 3m54.46s to win a silver medal for Scotland.
A spokesperson for Team East Lothian congratulated the pair, saying: “Congratulations to athletes Corey Campbell and Aidan Page, to their schools, George Heriot’s and Dunbar Grammar, and to their coaches at club Team East Lothian, for their international success.”
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