Race Report | 2024 Scottish National Schools Aquathlon Championships

A now very familiar start to our Championships season, young athletes from across Scotland descended on Fife for the 2024 Scottish National Aquathlon Championships.

The event was once again held at Michael Woods Sports & Leisure Centre, Glenrothes, with 309 pupils from 81 schools across Scotland taking part.

The racing began at 10am with the individual races, where pupils from S1 to S6 raced in their year groups over different distances:

S1/2 – 250m swim, 2km run
S3/4 – 400m swim, 3km run
S5/6 – 500m swim, 4km run

Athletes then had the chance to take part in the Mixed Team Relay in the afternoon, where four participants each completed a 200m swim followed by a 1km run. Schools were represented by teams made up of one female and one open pupil in S1-S3 and one female and one open pupil in S1-6.

Individual races:

The racing started with the S1/2 category, with much of the field excited to experiencing the Championships for a first time as they near the end of their first year of secondary school.

The girls were up first, and it was stiff competition at the head of the race. Amber Hinton (St Joseph’s College) was the fastest through the water in 03:19, the rest of the field hot on her heels with five within ten seconds of the leader. In the end, it would all come down to the run, with Olivia Lyne (Clydeview Academy) putting in an incredible performance to cross the line an impressive 25 seconds clear (12:25). Rachel Caves (Balerno High School) also had an incredible run through to second place (12:50), having been almost 30 seconds down on the leaders out the water. Ava Smith (Inverurie Academy) also had an impressive debut, with a consistent swim and run performance to hold on for third place (13:02).

In the Open S1/2 race, Austin MacPherson (Meldrum Academy) led out the water, just ahead of Harry Cook (Robert Gordon’s College). However, the rest of the field meant business with some speedy transitions meaning a big group was chasing hard. Fastest run of the day went to Harrison MacMillan (Fairview International School), enough to see him take the win (11:28). Behind him, his twin Rory MacMillan (Fairview International School) and Ross Allan (Perth High School) were battling it out for second, having matched each other in the swim and exited transition at the same time. It was Allan that would break clear for second (11:42), finishing just 7 seconds ahead of MacMillan (11:49)

In the S3/4 female race, Layla Wedderburn (The Mary Erskine School) had a clear lead out of the pool, but was caught by the chasers in transition. Once again, the run would play a huge role, with Scarlett Wilson (The Glasgow Academy) running through to take the win (19:37), having made up over 30 seconds on the leaders out the pool. Fastest run of the day by far went to Jessica Evans (Dollar Academy), and it was enough to see her finish in second place (19:57), making up a 90 second deficit out of transition. Also chasing hard was Sophie Gibbons (Bearsden Academy), who made up some time to take the bronze (20:38).

Moving past the halfway point of the individual races, it was time for the S3/4 Open to take centre stage. It was a fast and competitive swim leg, with the top 6 all within 10 seconds of each other. Triathlon Scotland Academy athlete, Finch Geary (Waid Academy), would lead the way out transition, and a solid run meant he wouldn’t be caught as he took the win in 17:24. Reuben Lees (Boroughmuir High School) had the fastest run split of the day, seeing him finish second (17:46) despite being almost a minute behind out the pool. Fraser Gemmell (Fairview International School) had a solid performance in both disciplines to take third (18:02).

We then entered the final age-group category of the morning session, with the female S5/6 up first. This one of the most exciting races of the day, coming down to the wire. Suzie McNair (Fairview International School) had an outstanding swim, exiting the pool over one minute clear of her competitors. A smooth transition meant she had an 88 second lead heading out on to the run over Megan MacDonald (Larbert High School). MacDonald was chasing hard though and passed McNair on the final lap to cross the line in first (26:56). Behind her, Holly Holmes (The Mary Erskine School) had been doing her own chasing, running almost a minute faster than MacDonald to also pass McNair in the closing stretch, crossing the line just 5 seconds after MacDonald (27:01) and 2 seconds ahead of McNair in third (27:03).

In the S5/6 Open category, Kai Connolly (Gryffe High School) claimed the fastest swim. However, with a stream of athletes leaving transition in quick succession, it would all be determined on the run course. With joint fastest run split, Dylan Daunt (James Gillespie’s High School) would take the win in 21:33. Charlie Treharne (The Glasgow Academy) had crossed the line just seconds before, but after a time adjustment by officials, he would claim second place (21:40). Kyle Johnstone (St Columba’s High School) also put in a strong run performance to finish third (21:52).

Mixed Team Relay:

Following a short break for lunch, it was time for the much anticipated Mixed Team Relay event, with 23 teams all lining up eager to come out on top. Schools could enter any team of 4 athletes, but to be eligible to place in the Championships they had to follow the format S1-3 Open, S1-3 Female, S1-6 Open, S1-6 Female.

Leading from the off was a non-eligible team made up of pupils from Clydeview Academy, Inverurie Academy and Perth High School. They would cross the line in an impressive 34:57. Chasing the whole way though was the Championships-eligible team from Fairview International School. With 3 individual medallists amongst their 4 athletes, they were always going to be the ones to beat, finishing almost 30 seconds clear of their competitors (35:27). With a strong contingent from Pentland Triathlete Juniors, Balerno High School were closing hard on the last leg to finish a clear second (35:56). The team from Mary Erskine Stewarts Melville was the third eligible team over the line (37:42).

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Congratulations to all who took part, and thank you to all the volunteers who came to help.

For a full list of results, click HERE.

The next event in our Scottish National Championship series is the Scottish National Youth Triathlon Championships which will take place on Saturday 18 May at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow.

For the full list of Scottish Championship events, please click HERE.

Podium Results:

Female S1/2

1st Olivia Lyne (Clydeview Academy) – 12:25
2nd Rachel Caves (Balerno High School) – 12:50
3rd Ava Smith (Inverurie Acadmey) – 13:02

Open S1/2

1st Harrison MacMillan (Fairview International School) – 11:28
2nd Ross Allan (Perth High School) – 11:42
3rd Rory MacMillan (Fairview International School) – 11:49

Female S3/4

1st Scarlett Wilson (The Glasgow Academy) – 19:37
2nd Jessica Evans (Dollar Academy) – 19:57
3rd Sophie Gibbons (Bearsden Academy) – 20:38

Open S3/4

1st Finch Geary (Waid Academy) – 17:24
2nd Reuben Lees (Boroughmuir High School) – 17:46
3rd Fraser Gemmell (Fairview International School) – 18:02

Female S5/6

1st Megan MacDonald (Larbert High School) – 26:56
2nd Holly Holmes (The Mary Erskine School) – 27:01
3rd Suzie McNair (Fairview International School) – 27:03

Open S5/6

1st Dylan Daunt (James Gillespie’s High School) – 21:33
2nd Charlie Treharne (The Glasgow Academy) – 21:40
3rd Kyle Johnstone (St Columba’s High School) – 21:52

Mixed Team Relay

1st Fairview International School – 35:27
2nd Balerno High School – 35:56
3rd Mary Erskine Stewarts Melville College – 37:42