Published: Thursday, 14th February, 2008 8:20am

Hurdler Eilidh tops West Fife's sports winners

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THE only surprise about Wednesday"s Dunfermline & West Fife sports personality of the year is that winner Eilidh Child was surprised.

'I didn"t think I would get it. Me and Francis (club mate Francis Smith) were having a chat beforehand and we thought one of the rugby boys would get it.

"I"m really, really chuffed,' the modest Pitreavie hurdler told Press Sport shortly after picking up the main award at the Dunfermline & West Fife Sports Council"s annual awards ceremony.

Child, who turns 21 later this month, was crowned West Fife"s sports personality of the year ahead of Dunfermline Rugby Club quartet Stevie McColl, Neale Patrick, Fraser McKenzie and Johnny Smart, fellow athletes Smith and Andrew Symonds, and water polo player Alasdair Campbell.

Child was a deserved winner, however, after a 2007 which saw her set a new personal best for her main event, the 400 metres hurdles, on no less than eight occasions and win six championship titles, including the under-23 English Championships (formerly AAA"s).

She finished the season ranked fourth in the UK senior rankings and third on the Scottish all time list for the 400m hurdles after clocking a PB 57.11 to finish fifth in the European under-23 championship final in Hungary in July.

'That was the highlight,' said Eilidh, as she looked back on her record-breaking season.

'I didn"t even think I was going to be there so to come fifth and get a PB confirmed that I could run on the big stage.'

With no major championships this year for Eilidh – the Beijing Olympics coming a little too soon – her main target for 2008 is to improve her rankings and time, with getting under 57 seconds her main target.

'The Commonwealth Games in 2010 could be a realistic target but the Games of 2014 in Glasgow would be a big thrill,' she admitted.

'We went along to Hampden Park a fortnight ago for a scottishathletics event and you could see where the finishing line would be and just imagine.'

Fortunately for British fencing, Mrs Thomson got over her initial anxieties when seven-year-old daughter Natasha said she wanted to take up the sport.

Nine years on, Natasha Thomson is set to travel to the World Championships in Italy in April after a 2007 which saw her become Scottish senior champion and British cadet (under-17) champion in the foil, winning her West Fife"s young personality of the year award on Wednesday.

'I did a taster class once in the summer holidays when I was seven,' Natasha explained, when asked how she first got into the sport.

'I really enjoyed it and asked my mum if I could start but she wasn"t too keen at first – she didn"t know what to expect.'

She"s keen now as she watches proudly as her daughter, from Watson Place, Dunfermline, tops the GB rankings.

'Winning the under-17 championships and doing well in foreign competitions has been my highlight of the year but I didn"t expect to win this award,' said Natasha, who pipped fellow fencer Jamie Fitzgerald, swimmers Eloise Barber and Jennifer Davis, athletes Douglas Paul and Anthony Young, and Calum Johnston (squash), Emma Mitchell (football), Samantha Munro (golf) and Andrew Woodall (water polo) to the junior award.

'I didn"t think I would get it because of what everyone else has achieved but I"m pleased because fencing isn"t a very recognised sport but it"s getting more popular,' she said.

Rona Gerrard said she was 'overwhelmed' after being recognised for her services to sport at the ceremony.

Rona helped set up Dunfermline Fencing Club as its founder secretary before moving on to the Riding for the Disabled group, which operated from a hired field near Bandrum when she started and now is a dedicated centre with indoor and outdoor facilities.

'I was really amazed and shocked,' she told Press Sport. 'Ena (fellow nominee Ena Stevenson) has done far more than me. She has done so much for curling.'

Also humbled to be presented with an award was swimming coach Garrie Roberts, who was named Coach of the Year for coaching a string of British champions and Scottish finalists from the InCAS Swimming Club as well as paralympian Andrew Lindsay, who won the award for athlete with a disability after winning gold at the IPC World Championships in Argentina.

'I was taken aback,' he said of his award. 'I don"t do anything, I just advise them. It"s their achievements.

"I travel 76 miles for every training session and, put it this way, I"ve had a bus pass for 18 months but I"ve not been able to use it. I love it.'

Aberdour Shinty Club continued its recent progress as the club"s under-12s were named junior team of the year while the under-17s were nominated for the main team prize, won by the Spartan gymnastic display team for winning the British Championships in November.

Around 70 kids from across West Fife now play shinty with the club and of the under-12s, coach Lisa Norman said, 'I don"t think they lost in 40 games indoors and outdoors last year and hopefully they can move on through to the under-17s.'

Open water swimmer Andrea Gellan won the Masters award for athletes over the age of 35 after becoming Scottish Masters 5K open water champion in a new Scottish record while Donibristle Primary School were the sports festivals champions after beating other West Fife primary schools over 14 festivals in six different sports, organised by the sports council and the Dunfermline Carnegie Trust.