Strong Huntly contingent bring home nine medals from British Roller Ski Championships
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A STRONG contingent of racers from Huntly Nordic Ski Club took part in the British Roller Ski Championships in Yorkshire.
A total of 19 Huntly racers, joined by five from Fife, took part in the British Roller Ski Championships in Leeds on Sunday, June 19.
A total of five racers picked up medals in competitive events, while four racers returned north as British champions.
The four champions returning north to Huntly were Elspeth Cruickshank, Rasmus Ipsen, Annabelle Medler and Luke Gilliland. Medals also went to Aiden Grant, Gwen Somserset, Logan Duncan, Hannah McHugh and Sophie Forth.
Simon Bate, vice chairman of Huntly Nordic Ski Club, said: “The kids were tremendous. We took a full minibus and travelled to Leeds. The kids were very polite and raced their hearts out.
“There were some new racers, while some were quite established. We are so proud of them all.
“The winners were overjoyed because they have been training hard. Some have been training for a long time without competitions to go to, so we are really pleased for them.
“They were quite nervous about how many people they’d be up against and whether they’d be good enough.
“To become a British champion... it’s just amazing.”
Luke Gilliland was the first under-14 male in the 3.2 kilometre free, coming home in a time of 11 minutes seven seconds. Aiden Grant, also from Huntly, was second place – a minute behind.
Annabelle Medler was first girl home in the same competition – finishing in 11 minutes 30 – 90 seconds ahead of Gwen Somerset, who came home in second place.
Rasmus Ipsen was the first under-18 male in the 7.5 kilometre free, finishing just seconds ahead of second place in a time of 21 minutes 22 seconds. Oliver Hill came home in 21 minutes 24 seconds, with Huntly’s Logan Duncan picking up bronze in a time of 21 minutes 29 seconds.
There was a one-two finish for Huntly racers in the under-18s female section, with Elspeth Cruickshank and Sophie Forth coming home in times of 24 minutes 42 and 25 minutes 16 seconds respectively.
Ben Kedward and Murdo Reid picked up gold medals in the relay, while Logan Duncan and Aiden Grant’s team pipped Jack Somerset and Luke Gilliland’s team to second by just half a second.
