It was a weekend to remember for Isle of Man athletics, with Sarah Astin and Regan Corrin equally sharing the limelight after both produced historic performances on Sunday to set new national records, supported by a string of outstanding results across the UK and Europe.

Astin delivered a superb run on her marathon debut at the Seville Marathon, producing a composed and consistent performance from start to finish.

Passing halfway in one hour 15 minutes and 09 seconds, she maintained her rhythm through the latter stages despite slowing slightly, reaching 40km in 2:26.46 before powering to the finish in 2:35.16.

The time secured 17th place in a high-quality international women’s field and shaved 15 seconds off the previous Isle of Man women’s record of 2:35.31 set by Christa Cain in Chicago last October.

It represents a superb debut over the distance for the former Manx Harrier and another milestone in an already distinguished career.

Typically, she was not fully satisfied with her run, commenting afterwards: ‘Not what we came here to do, but we got to the finish line on a very, very tough day!’

Cain herself also impressed in Seville, finishing second woman in the supporting 5km race on Saturday with a personal best of 16m 30s. This beats her own Isle of Man women’s 35 record by three seconds.

Meanwhile, at the British Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Regan Corrin produced a spectacular performance to clear 2.19 metres in the high jump, breaking the Isle of Man record of 2.18m held by Martin Aram since 2006.

The clearance earned the Manx Harriers athlete - still a junior - the silver medal, with victory decided on countback after both leading athletes cleared the same height.

Corrin’s series included first-time clearances at 1.97m, 2.02m and 2.07m, before battling through at 2.11m and 2.15m and finally producing a spectacular third-attempt clearance at the record-breaking height of 2.19m.

He narrowly missed 2.22m, but capped an exceptional week which has also featured a new IoM long jump record and multiple Commonwealth Games qualifying standards.

There were also notable performances from several other Manx athletes. Meghan Pilley ran a time of 7.80 seconds for 60 metres at the Indoor Championships, having the honour of lining up in the next lane to British star Dina Asher-Smith.

Fellow Manx athlete Aimee Christian enjoyed an excellent weekend representing Chester University at the British Universities (BUCS) Indoor Championships in Sheffield.

The Island Games athlete set no fewer than three indoor personal bests at the meeting - 9.66 seconds for 60 metres hurdles on Friday, followed on Saturday by 59.72 for 400 metres and 26.97 for 200 metres.

She qualified for Sunday's semi-finals of the 200 metres, in which she clocked 27.01 - no doubt slightly distracted by another competitor crashing to the track in the home straight.

It was a great weekend for Aimee, getting full value for her trip by competing on three consecutive days.

Meanwhile, distance runner Dawn Atherton (Western AC) set a substantial personal best time of 1:23.30 to finish sixth woman at the Media City Half-Marathon in Manchester.

She took almost two minutes off her previous best in windy conditions, moving up to 13th place on the all-time list of female Isle of Man half-marathon runners.

With two national records achieved on the same day - one on the roads of Spain and the other on the indoor stage in Birmingham - the weekend underlined both the depth and quality of Isle of Man athletics.

DAVID GRIFFITHS

The prize presentation evening for the Group Eleven-sponsored Cross-Country League takes place this Wednesday at the Manx Legion Hall in Douglas.

Doors will open at 6pm ahead of the league presentation getting underway at 6.45pm, with the food following at approximately 7.30pm. The Cross-Country Championship presentation then takes place from roughly 8.15pm.

There are spaces available for thos who want food and also those just wanting to pick up awards without being fed.

Any winners who cannot make it should please try to get someone to attend to collect awards on their behalf.

- Calling all sports teams: we offer free publicity for local clubs and athletes in our newspapers and on our websites.

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