Borders triple-jumper Henry Clarkson only 1cm off winning comeback in Wales


The 25-year-old, formerly of Selkirk and Kelso but now living in Peebles, recorded the third furthest outdoor performance in that discipline so far this year at the 106th Welsh Senior Track and Field Championships in Cardiff on Sunday.
The Borderer, representing Glasgow Jaguars Track and Field Club, was there as a warm-up for this year’s UK Athletics Championships in Manchester at the end of the month so he’ll be encouraged by his 15m and 57cm hop, step and jump earning him second place.
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Hide AdThat was only one centimetre shy of Nigerian former Commonwealth Games champion Tosin Oke’s winning distance and just 18cm off his own personal best of 15m 75cm.
Third-placed Abdul Afolabi, of Cardiff Archers, was over a metre adrift of the Scot with an effort of 14m and 40cm, with Leicester’s Nahbi Odeh 10cm further back in fourth place.
Clarkson’s coach, Peebles-based Linda Nicholson, was impressed by that return to action, saying: “Henry has huge potential, with triple-jumpers often not reaching that sort of distance until well into their twenties.
“With so many injury worries over the winter, it’s been a tough time for him, but we’ve kept focused and put in the work, and I’m delighted with his performance at the weekend.
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Hide Ad“We’re now focusing on the British championships at the end of June.”
Clarkson is also targeting beating Scotland’s triple-jump record of 16m 17cm, set by Aberdeen-born but Australian-based John Mackenzie in Bedfordshire almost three decades ago in September 1994.
His runner-up spot comes ten months after a jump of 15m 36cm saw him crowned as champion at 2023’s Scottish Athletics National Senior Championships in Grangemouth last August.
He’s also competed at long jump, high jump and 60m, 100m and 200m races prior to focusing on triple jump.
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