Scholes defends her 1,500m title and adds 800m gold, while Nic Ackermann and Rhiannon Dowinton also shine.
Not least because of a 1,500m performance that lifts her to third on Guernsey’s all-time list, she stood out among several high-level senior performers at Basingstoke’s Down Grange.. Nic Ackermann and Rhiannon Dowinton also returned with a senior gold apiece at an event that had for many years unfolded at Portsmouth’s coastal Mountbatten Centre, serving as a proving ground for Guernsey athletes of all ages in county competition.. Scholes paced herself to a successful defence
of last year’s milestone 1,500m title with a 4min.. 32.93sec.. on the first of two days’ action, also beating out the U20 and U18 athletes in the combined age-group final.. Winchester senior Leah Johnson followed in 4-35.58.. This over-6sec.. PB meant she overtook several athletes, not least her mum Martine, on the all-time list and is now behind only Nat Whitty (4-25.48) and record-holder Sarah Roe (4-24.05).. She backed up that feat by dominating the
800m on a windswept Sunday, posting her second-quickest run yet with a 2-13.26 as a relative novice to the distance.. That was enough to beat the runner-up, Winchester veteran Sian Lewis, by 3.50sec.. ‘I felt very relieved to win, obviously excited but because I had the 1500 title last year, and I have progressed so much since then, I wanted to keep it,’ the 22-year-old said.. ‘The 800 title was a lovely bonus as I
am finding myself to be really enjoying the distance.. ‘I am hoping I have a lot more to give in the 1500 this season.. Third on the all-time list is awesome but I’m hungry for more.. ‘The whole weekend was so much fun with a lovely team atmosphere and the coaches were fab, so thank you to them – and as always, was great to have “Ingy” [coach Paul Ingrouille] by my side.’ In another
successful title defence and PB, Nic Ackermann won the 400m hurdles in 55.79, edging out Berkshire athlete Archie Ellis by 0.35sec.. Off the back of last year’s breakthrough title at Orkney 2025, he has been receiving some in-person coaching from Alastair Chalmers.. A stronger and faster Ackermann demonstrated his potential at Footes Lane a week prior but this time went firmly under the Games A standard and also moved up to seventh on Guernsey’s all-time
list.. The 20-year-old then showed his raw speed endurance with a 400m flat silver and PB of 49.54.. He cracked the 50sec.. barrier – which so happens to be the A standard – decisively to finish behind only Basingstoke’s Stefan O’Loughnane and go ninth on Guernsey’s all-time list.. Rhiannon Dowinton’s status as a three-times consecutive Games champion over the 100m hurdles made her a firm challenger for the county title and she lived up to
that, edging the combined senior and U20 race in 15.10.. She finished 0.12sec.. clear of Portsmouth’s Millie Rolls-Hooper and 0.16sec.. ahead of Winchester’s Grace Weeks, both U20 athletes.. Making a rare 200m outing on Sunday, she strode to a senior silver there behind Leeds’ dominant Charlotte Longden, though her 26.53 clocking did come with an over-the-limit 3.7m/s tailwind reading.. Jack Le Tissier set the pace for Guernsey’s male middle-distance runners, which included silver in a
close senior men’s 800m.. He rallied after a relatively slow first lap but allowed Basingstoke’s Harris Worship to get through on the inside, running 1-58.51 with his rival just 0.12sec.. ahead.. In a tactical 1,500m the next day, he did not quite have the legs for a podium but still took fourth in 4-04.15.. That same race had veteran Toby Mann clocking a PB of 4-20.45 to just about lead over the line teammate Mikey
Ingrouille, who improved his own mark to 4-21.53.. Ingrouille had done a 2-07.67 for a fine fifth in the previous day’s 800m.. As Guernsey’s sole senior field competitor, Holly Drake’s 9.95m in Saturday’s triple jump was good for silver behind a championship record-breaking Amelia Gray of Andover.
Guernsey athletics, county championships, Scholes 1500m, 800m gold, Nic Ackermann, Rhiannon Dowinton, triple jump silver