There was double gold medal success for Manx racewalker Marie Jackson at the 25th World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden last weekend. 

The event saw no fewer than 8,000 athletes aged 35 years and above from 111 countries around the world compete in track and field and non-stadia events over two weeks.   

Representing Great Britain in the women’s 60-64 age group of the 20 kilometre walk, Jackson of the Isle of Man Veteran Athletes’ Club lined up with 80 other women across all masters age groups in the picturesque Slottsskogen Park.  

Spain’s Isabel Ruiz-Ayucar Seifert emerged as the early leader from the congestion of the first of the 1km laps of the course, taking an early commanding lead over Jackson and her GB team-mate Maureen Noel of Belgrave Harriers.  

But Jackson’s metronomic pace judgement saw her take the lead at the 4km mark, gradually shaking off her closest challengers over the remaining laps of the park. 

Finishing in two hours eight minutes and 53 seconds, with only one second the difference in her 10km splits, it proved to be a comfortable winning margin for Jackson. 

Fellow Briton Noel secured the silver medal just over eight minutes behind. Early leader Seifert failed to finish, retiring at 16km, while the bronze medal went to Hong Kong’s Suk Lam Lan.  

Jackson, of first claim club Manx Harriers, finished 17th overall across all age groups and her performance helped to secure a team gold medal for the Great Britain masters women’s team of Melanie Peddle (W55) and Aleksandra Majewska-Ani (W35) who both finished fourth in their respective age group races.