Athletics gets further boost with Meadowbank Games

In another boost for the sport before the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, professional athletics is returning to Meadowbank this summer after a long break.

New Year Sprint promoter Frank Hanlon is launching a new meeting, the Meadowbank Games, to be held on the evening of Friday, June 21.

Following the introduction of the Pitreavie Gift pro meeting, which took place for the second year at the Fife stadium last month, this will be the second new meeting on the professional handicap calendar.

A third one, the City of 
Edinburgh Running Festival, is planned for a grass track at Meggetland on Friday, July 5.

Prizes for the Meadowbank Games in June range from £250 for first in the 100 metres open handicap and £200 for first in a scratch 110 metres race to £75 for first in five youth handicap races, ranging from 100 metres to 1600 metres. In all there are 17 events and entries will close on June 1.

It is over a decade since the New Year Sprint was held at the stadium which was the venue for the 1970 and 1986 Commonwealth Games. Promoter Hanlon first moved his New Year meeting to Musselburgh Racecourse in December 1999 because of the cost of hiring the facilities, and it has remained there ever since.