Athletics: McColgan wins first national title

The former world cross-country silver medallist, Liz McColgan, won her first national title with a runaway success in Perth.

The 39-year-old was the star of Saturday's Scottish Championships where her iron will and self-confidence carried her to a victory ahead of Catriona Morrison and Angie Mudge.

A week after winning the Scottish indoors 3,000 metres gold medal, McColgan showed her versatility, winning by 48 seconds ahead of Stirling University's Morrison in a time of 25 minutes 56 seconds.

Andrew Lemoncello failed in his attempt to become the youngest men's champion since the success of British international distance runner Nat Muir, who was 20 when winning the title in Livingston 25 years ago.

The 21-year-old Lemoncello lost out to the experienced heads of Glen Stewart and Phil Mowbray.

In Athens, the Welsh record holder Catherine Murphy shrugged off a back niggle to finish second with a season-best 400m time in yesterday's Athinai indoor meeting.

Murphy, drawn in the outside lane of the Peania Stadium, battled bravely until succumbing to the finishing speed of Ionela Tirlea.

Tirlea, the reigning European 400m hurdles champion and winner of the recent Stockholm meeting, claimed victory in 51.59sec. It was the Romanian's quickest performance of the season as she asserted her authority over the final 30 metres.

Murphy, clocking 52.29, sliced a healthy quarter of a second from the mark she set when second behind Antonina Yefremova in last weekend's European Indoor Cup final.

Murphy said: "I was struggling with a tight back so I'm very pleased with the result. Now it will be a case of finalising my preparations for Budapest."

At the same meeting,Russia's Svetlana Feofanova reclaimed her women's indoor pole vault world record, clearing 4.85 metres .

Feofanova made the jump at the first attempt to eclipse the mark set one week ago by her compatriot Yelena Isinbayeva.

Feofanova had held the previous record of 4.80m, which she achieved at last year's World Indoor Championships in Birmingham.