Borders triple-jumper Henry Clarkson wins bronze medal at this year’s UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham

The Peebles 25-year-old, Scottish champion for the last two years, was among six Scots to return north from the West Midlands with medals – two of them golds for clubmates at Glasgow’s Giffnock North Athletics Club, for Alyson Bell in the women’s 200m race and Neil Gourley in the men’s 1,500m – and he’s believed to be the first triple-jumper from north of the border to take a podium place at the British championships this century.

Clarkson, representing Edinburgh Athletic Club, managed a final-round distance of 15.45m at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, 16cm behind English runner-up Jordan Aki-Sawyerr and 19cm shy of his countryman Efe Uwaifo’s winning effort of 15.64m.

Outdoing his winning distance of 14.98m at Sheffield the weekend before, the Borderer’s first two jumps of 15.16m and 15.22m had put him in second place going into round three and he followed that up with a fifth-round effort of 15.10m en route to his highest placing yet in a British final, his previous best having been fifth.

His coach Linda Nicholson, also of Peebles, reported: “He’s understood to be the first Scot to make the podium in this event for around 30 years.

“After a good start in the competition, Henry was lying in silver-medal position after three jumps, but in the fourth round a few of those ranked above him on paper produced great jumps and he slipped down to fourth.

“It took nerves of steel and sheer grit to commit to the final jump, hitting the 20cm white take-off board spot on to produce a medal-winning performance.

“The event was won in a distance of only 19cm more than Henry’s by Efe Uwaifo, of London’s Harrow Athletic Club.”