Photo by Bobby Gavin
By Katy Barden
It wasn’t on the long list of target achievements she’d scribbled down as a 16-year-old, but the retrospective addition of ‘double World Masters Champion’ has sparked a resurgence for West Linton PE teacher Stacey Downie.
The 35-year-old is a Masters athlete and a reigning Scottish Senior champion. The two are not mutually exclusive.
In February 2022, she won the national indoor 400m title, and following her global success over 200m and 400m at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Finland, she took silver in the 100m and 200m at the 4J Senior Championships in Aberdeen in August.
Perhaps most notably – because this one was a bucket list item – she also won the 153rd New Year Sprint, only the third female athlete to do so since the inaugural race in 1870.
Downie’s first outing at the New Year Sprint was in 2003 and she has competed in the event almost every year since. Hers is a career driven by commitment, dedication and talent but also, frustratingly at times, compromised by illness and injury.
She believes that her relatively late development in the sport – she earned her first national age-group vest in 2006 and her first Senior vest in 2007 – has worked to her advantage and contributed to her longevity.
Her first coach, Charlie Russell, a highly acclaimed Scottish Borders-based sprints coach, has also been integral to her success.
‘I first met Charlie when I was around 12,’ says Stacey.
‘He taught me to grow up . . . and he didn’t allow me to get too big for my boots.’
For almost a decade, Russell guided Downie to multiple Scottish, English and British titles from their grass training base in Innerleithen, while she honed her competition skills and learned how to race on the Highland Games circuit.
‘I didn’t even consider leaving Charlie when I started at University,’ she continues.
‘I trained with him five days per week. I think having that stability, that’s why I did so well. He never put much pressure on me, but he knew when it came to a race I’d always perform.’
NEW YEAR SPRINT WINNER!! 🥇🏆
Feels amazing to finally say that!! This has been a dream of mine since I was 16 and I’ve done it!!My third final+after placing 4th and 3rd, this was third time lucky!!
Special to celebrate with coaches who have worked with me all these years pic.twitter.com/yxnNy7ch2X— Stacey Downie (@StaceyDownie)…
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