A PEEBLES-BASED athlete who produced a “staggering” result at a national championships has his eyes on decades-old Scottish records.

Henry Clarkson hopped, stepped and jumped his dominance on the triple jump scene in Britain, with a spectacular solo performance at the Scottish Senior Athletics Championship in Grangemouth at the weekend.

With no opposition in the senior competition, he brought his own pizzazz to the event, engaging the crowd with hand-clapping to support him, and delivering a show rarely seen in the UK.

His winning jump of 15m 93 is the third best outdoor triple jump produced by anyone in the UK this year and surpasses his winning jump of 15m 36 in last year’s Scottish Championships by more than half a metre.

Clarkson, 25, only returned to the sport last summer having had a year-long “retirement”,

But a phone call to his longstanding coach Linda Nicholson, to inform her he had unfinished business, marked his return – and with a vengeance.

For Peebles jumps and sprints coach Nicholson, her protegee’s performance at the weekend was a well-earned reward for a year of dedication and careful management through the highs and lows of athletics training at this level.

She said: “We have had to travel outwith Scotland for all Henry’s competitions this season to get him the level of competition he needs, but it was fantastic to see what he could produce on his own doorstep at the Scottish Championships on Saturday.

“We have our sights firmly on the Scottish indoor and outdoor records, which have stood for decades. He is the only top Scottish triple jumper currently training in Scotland, the others are training and competing in the US, so to deliver the best jump of any Scot in 2024 is staggering.”