Athletics: Capital duo picked for Loughborough event

Capital stars Emily Dudgeon and Tom Holligan (both Edinburgh AC) have won been rewarded for their bright early season form by being named in the British Junior team to contest the annual Loughborough International at Loughborough a week on Sunday.

The Scotland senior team for the match will be chosen after this weekend’s District Championships.

Dudgeon sliced more than a second off her personal best in finishing second in 2:06.36 in the British Universities 800 metres at the new Olympic Stadium at Stratford.

Her time is also the fastest by a Scot so far this season. Her delighted coach John Lees said: “Emily’s very focused – she’s studying medicine at Cambridge and in between races she was back with her books. She’s had to overcome a major health problem of her own too but she’s one of the best I’ve worked with.”

Dudgeon, 19, is not racing this weekend as she has exams but Holligan, 18, who is still in sixth year at Firrhill High, is expected to challenge for both sprint titles at the Scottish East District Championships at Meadowbank tomorrow. One interesting entry in the junior sprints is sure to be Morro Bajo, who recently returned to Edinburgh from Africa to train with coach Bill Walker.

Bobsleigh ace Gillian Cooke may forego the East 100 metres to return to her first love, the long jump, which takes place on Sunday. One Capital athlete not competing this weekend will be Emily Stewart (EAC) who will be concentrating on trying to improve her barrier technique for the steeplechase after letting slip the lead in the 2k event at BUCS, apparently mainly due to a bad water jump.

Eventual winner Pippa Woolven (Birmingham), who came from 10 metres down, was reported as saying: “When I saw her (Stewart) go over the last water jump and she went in, I thought to myself that I could really go for it.”