Lanarkshire 2011 International Children's Games

The cream of Lanarkshire's young athletes secured two gold, two silver and five bronze medals to beat last year's tally of seven medals despite competing in extremely testing conditions with temperatures reaching 44 degrees.

A 5-1 victory over the host city in the final saw the football team strike gold thanks to an own goal and goals from Keith Glen (Airdrie), Paul McCafferty (Wishaw) and Jack Leitch (Motherwell, 2). The boys had beaten Soprom of Hungary 6-0 in the quarter final and Baghdad 3-2 in the semi-final after sailing through the group stages.

Rutherglen's Laura McCracken won two medals at the Games. She took gold with victory in the girls' 100m and silver as part of the girls' 4x100m relay team featuring Lisa Thomson (Rutherglen), Arlene Barr (Cambuslang) and Mhairi Hendry (Hamilton).

Ross Maxwell of Cambuslang clinched silver in the long jump and a bronze as part of the boys' 4x100m relay team containing Andrew Ravenscroft, Nicholas Coupland (both East Kilbride) and James Higgins (Airdrie).

Cambuslang's Lisa Thomson secured bronze in both the long and high jump events to add to her silver in the 4x100m relay.

The tae kwon do team was also successful with both the Coatbridge boys winning bronze medals. Aaron McAllister's success came in the over 51kg category while Kieran Campbell claimed his medal in the under 55kg category.

Councillor Jackie Burns, joint chair of the Lanarkshire 2011 International Children's Games Organising Committee, said: "The Manama Games were a fantastic success for the Team Lanarkshire athletes and their coaches. Lanarkshire has brought home its largest ever medal tally and the athletes should feel very proud of themselves.

"The athletes had to acclimatise very quickly to the heat in Manama and they did so admirably and put in a strong challenge in every event they competed in.

"Every one of these athletes is a fine role model for the young people of Lanarkshire and they embody the spirit and hard work we hope will be the legacy of the Lanarkshire 2011 International Children's Games."

And Councillor Jim Smith, joint chair of the Lanarkshire 2011 International Children's Games Organising Committee, said: "We now turn our attention to Lanarkshire 2011 and to welcoming the world to Lanarkshire. We made many, many friends during our time in Manama and we look forward to hosting them and more next August.

It's vital as many people as possible have an awareness of the Games and the legacy they will leave for our young people throughout Lanarkshire for years to come.

"Not only will the Games attract some of the best young athletes from around the world but we hope it will inspire them to get involved in sports at grassroots level and enjoy all of the associated benefits - improving health, boosting confidence and self-belief and motivating them to achieve their ambitions."

Team Lanarkshire's final medal tally was:

Gold
football (5-1 v Manama)
girls' 100m (Laura McCracken, Rutherglen)

Silver
boys' long jump (Ross Maxwell, Cambuslang)
girls' 4x100m relay

Bronze
boys' 4x100m relay
long jump (Lisa Thomson, Rutherglen)
high jump (Lisa Thomson)
tae kwon do (Aaron McAllister, Coatbridge)
tae kwon do (Kieran Campbell, Coatbridge)

The athletics team was made up of: Lisa Thomson, Mhairi Hendry, Arlene Barr, Laura McCracken, Andrew Ravenscroft, John Higgins, Ross Maxwell and Nicholas Coupland.

The football squad comprised of: Ross Stuart, Jack Leitch, Fraser Johnston, Keith Glen, Paul McCafferty, Matthew Craig, Mark Brown and Ryan Finnie.

Emma Brown and Alasdair Logan made up the sailing team while Aaron McAllister and Keiran Campbell represented Lanarkshire in tae kwon do.