Success for the seniors!

May 27 2008 by Andrew Flynn, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

I WOULD like to thank you for your excellent coverage (Friday May 23) of my team’s (Watson, McCaffrey, Beadle and Graham) M35 silver medal at the National Open Masters Road Relay Championships, in Sutton Coldfield on Saturday May 17.

As reported, we are the first Holmfirth team at senior level to win a national medal. It might be interesting for enthusiasts of Huddersfield sport to note that the only other national senior level athletics medal from the Huddersfield area was a bronze medal achieved by Longwood Harriers in the National Cross Country Championships, in 1967. There is a connection in that my grandma’s cousin is Derek Ibbotson, who played a major role in that Longwood team’s success.

The M35 result is a piece of sporting history which continues Huddersfield’s proud and significant legacy of national athletics achievement. More importantly for our town it was solely achieved by home-grown runners as all of us were born, raised and still live in the Huddersfield area.

Gary Graham

Netherton