WILLIAM WINS 'VETERAN SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR' AWARD

Sanday ultra distance runner William Sichel (52) won the "Veteran Sportsman of the Year" award for the second successive year on Friday night at the Orkney Sports Awards Ceremony held at the Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall.

The highlights for William over the past 12 months were his outright win in the "Across the Years" 24 hour race in Phoenix, Arizona with a 5 year best distance of 136.4 miles last January.

Then in October William became the first Scot ever to complete the World's longest point to point race - the "Spartathlon" - in Greece. William covered the 153 mountainous miles in 33 hours 14 minutes to achieve 37th place overall and 3rd in his age group.

William currently lies 5 th on the "All time" list of British road performances with his run of 153.3 miles in 2000 and is currently this year's Great Britain overall No2 with his Phoenix performance of 136.4 miles.

William is a member of the Orkney Athletic Club and was voted Orkney's'‘Veteran Sportsman of the Year' in November 2004. He has represented Great Britain 11 times at ultra distance running since 1996.

William set new Guinness World Records for both 100 miles and 24hrs on the treadmill in December 2002. With his wife, Elizabeth, he runs the Orkney Angora mail order knitwear and yarn business in Sanday, Orkney.

William is grateful to sponsors: The Ayre Hotel, The Orcadian , Crantit Dairy (Orkney Ice Cream), dion_networks and Loganair .

End.

Comment from Orkney Athletic Club: please contact Ronnie Johnston ronnie.johnson@orkney.uhi.ac.uk

Making contact:

William Sichel, Upper Breckan , Sanday , Orkney KW17 2AZ. Tel/Fax: 01857 600421. Mobile (whilst travelling only) 0794 128 3506. william@williamsichel.co.uk Running web site: http://www.williamsichel.co.uk/

Photographs:

Newsline Scotland (Press Agency). Tel 01224 594000. photos@newsline-scotland.co.uk

Ken Amer , Orkney Photographic. Tel 01856 873574, Mobile 07808 961780 info@orkneyphotographic.co.uk

William Sichel, ‘Free to use' photographs can be down loaded from my on-line photo album. Go to: http://www.williamsichel.co.uk/ and click on ‘Photos'.

15/11/05