Athletics: Scots head for Flanders to battle for places at Games

TWENTY Scottish athletes head for the Flanders Cup in Belgium tomorrow in the hope of achieving Commonwealth Games standards.

Pick of the bunch would appear to be the 1500 metres where former Scottish champion Darren Gauson (Edinburgh AC) has returned from the US to bid for his Delhi team place and will clash with the current Scottish No.1 Ali Hay (Central), who has one qualifying standard to his credit (3min 38.9sec) but needs at least two for selection.

Both athletes will have positive memories of the same meeting last year.

"The field looks good and, hopefully, we'll get a quick race," said Hay, who was caught for pace in a big sprint finish to the UK Championship race in Birmingham last Sunday.

Gauson is third ranked this season with 3:42.34, set in the US, just 0.64 outside the Games standard. In second place is his younger brother, Kris, another ex national champion, who has opted not to return from the US.

The 800m should also be fascinating with Lasswade's 18-year-old Guy Learmonth, a semi-finalist at the UK senior championships in Birmingham last weekend, locking horns with 17-year-old Stuart Ross, who has run 1:48.9 this season compared with Learmonth's 1:49.23.

Joining the fray will be former British junior cap Mark Mitchell (EAC) who ran low 1:49s at Stretford last Tuesday.

Still only 22 and the National champion in 2008, Mitchell roared back to form with a fine win to dip under 1:50.0 for the first time for several seasons in a British Milers' Club meeting.

Sprinter Ryan Oswald (Pitreavie) and high jumper Emma Nuttall (EAC), who both chose to miss the UK Championships, will have the chance to improve, while Sarah Warnock (EAC) renews rivalry with Jade Nimmo (Falkirk) in the long jump.