Athletics: Guy Learmonth’s Sheffield stroll

GUY LEARMONTH (Lasswade) was an easy 800 metres winner for Glasgow Cobras in the McCain City Indoor Challenge at Sheffield on Saturday in 1:50.81, front running all the way to beat English rivals Ben Wallis (Guildford) and Rick Ward (Norwich) by 20 metres.

Another Scot Kirsten McAslan (Manchester) set an indoor best of 52.30 in finishing a close second in the women’s 400 metres to Birmingham’s Megan Beasley (54.00). The Edinburgh AC athletes in the Glasgow team had mixed results, Jayne Nisbet finishing third in the high jump (1.76m), Kath Evans fourth in the 800m (2:08.94), Lisa Ferguson fourth in the long jump (5.88m), and Allan Hamilton sixth in the men’s long jump (7.06m).

Meanwhile, US-based Capital miler Chris O’Hare lowered his best for the indoor 1000 metres by more than three seconds in clocking 2:20.99 in the Meyo Invitational as he builds up for Saturday’s Millrose Games in New York.

Edinburgh University women, led by Emily Stewart in fifth place and well supported by Rhona Auckland (21), Christina Rankin (24) and Sarah Inglis (30), won the bronze medals in the British Universities Cross Country championships in Cardiff on Saturday. Stewart lost a shoe at the start.