Two new records were set at the Lochcarron Highland Games on Saturday as the annual extravaganza was played out in beautiful sunshine at Attadale Gardens.
Sinclair Patience of Tain and Angus Davren of Conon Bridge excelled at the 41st edition of the games as they wrote their names into the record books.
Angus Davren hit new heights as he cleared 1.84 metres to set a new ground record in the high jump. Meanwhile, in the 28lbs weight for distance discipline in the heavy events, Sinclair Patience set a new ground record with his effort of 77′ 5′.
Patience’s record was his crowning achievement on what was an excellent day all round for the heavy events athlete as he also claimed victory in the 16lbs stone, 22lb shot, 16lb hammer, 22lb hammer, 56lbs weight for distance, and the 56lbs weight over the bar SHGA British Championship event. He also finished third in the caber toss which was won by Patrick Van Antwerpen from the Netherlands.
In the male track and field events, Angus Davren also tasted success in the 200m and the Long jump, while Finlay Murray cleaned up in the 400m, 800m SHGA British Championship event, 1600m, and the triple jump.
Meanwhile, Nuala McCheyne of Dunoon and Stephanie Owen from Larbert performed superbly in the female track and field events to win all seven categories between them.
Nuala McCheyne was victorious in the 100m, 200m and 400m, while Stephanie Owen proved too strong for her opponents as she took the spoils in the 1,600m, long jump, triple jump and high jump competitions.
In the 4 x 100 m relay (mixed), Fraser Macdonald’s team crossed the line first to claim victory, while Lochcarron Camanachd and Rory Dowd’s team came in second and third, respectively.
The hill race competition resulted in wins for Matt Macdonald – 22 minutes and 39 seconds in the open category – while Cliona McCheyne crossed the line first in 28:07 in the ladies’ category. Gabriel Parsons finished the open category as the local male winner, while Angela Goodman took the local female winner accolade in the ladies’ category.
In the tug of war competitions, Strathcarron earned bragging rights with victory over Lochcarron Camanachd, while the Carranach Family defeated Teuchtar Wives to capture the ladies tug of war crown.
Commenting on this year’s event, Lochcarron Highland Games chairperson Maureen Brown told the Free Press: “We were all a wee bit wary of the forecast but relieved that the rain stayed away. The weather is such a big decider in the success or failure of the day!
“We had a good turnout of athletes for the events, and some really tense moments as records were broken or almost broken!
“We had the local Strathcarron Brewery beer on tap in the beer tent for the first time – it was a huge success and sold out. There was also a fantastic array of stalls both local and from outside the area and they were all happy with the day’s business.”
She added: “We are very grateful to the MacPherson family at Attadale for the use of their grounds, and to Ewen MacPherson for opening proceedings on the day.
“We would like to thank all our sponsors, volunteers and everyone who had some input to the day. It wouldn’t happen without them!”
To view the full results, visit the Lochcarron Highland Games website.
Article by Adam Gordon.