Manx Harriers’ Donovan Skillicorn was named the athlete of the meeting at the latest round of the Baker Tilly Track and Field League. 

The weather was awful, being cold, wet and very windy - with it resembling more a winter’s evening then the height of the summer.  

But athletes in the Isle of Man have to be a hardy bunch and a number of fine performances were recorded in the fourth league round.  

Donovan recorded three fine wins during the evening. He started off with victory in the under-15 boys 80 metres hurdles in a time of 12.7 seconds.  

This time would rank him in the top 100 in the UK, with his personal best of 12.2 seconds ranking him in the top 30.  

Donovan followed this up with a personal best in the long jump which again would be highly ranked in the UK, then his final win came with a rapid 100 metres time of 12.2 seconds.  

He has improved greatly over the season and has been regularly recording personal bests.  

Donovan’s coach Di Shimell said: ‘He is a joy to coach and excels at hurdles, and he is improving all the time in long jump and triple jump too.  

‘He is very hard working, improving his 200 metres pb by over two seconds this year, and I am confident this development will continue.  

‘Donovan comes from a very athletic family who support him fully in his sport.’ 

He is a young man of few words, preferring his actions to speak for him. But he would want to thank his coach and club for their support and also Baker Tilly IoM for this well-deserved award.  

ANDY FOX