IT’S quite something to make history. To do it at the tender age of 18 is even more remarkable but that’s what Jazmine Tomlinson did last year when she became the first female sprinter ever to win the illustrious New Year Sprint.

In doing so, the Jedburgh athlete wrote herself into the record books and she is back this year to defend her title.

The New Year Sprint has a long and proud history – it was first run in 1870 and these days the final takes place at Musselburgh Racecourse and is incorporated into the day’s New Year National Hunt horseracing programme.

In the 147-year history of the event, no female had ever taken the title, despite a few close calls.

There have previously been second place finishes by female sprinters and indeed, Tomlinson herself had reached the final the previous two years but the winner’s trophy had always been owned by a man. Until last year that is, when Tomlinson, starting from a 20.5 metre handicap, took the title by a mere 0.3 seconds.

A year on, the Borders teenager is still palpably proud of her achievement.

“When I won last year, it didn’t sink right away,” the 19-year-old says. “But then the following day, I was getting loads of messages from people and the support was absolutely unreal.

“That was when I started realising that I’d made history and to have done it when I was only 18, I just couldn’t believe it. It’s amazing to think that whatever happens in the race in the future, I’ll always be the first female winner.

“You can take the trophy away from me but no one can ever take that record.”

Tomlinson’s victory means that she starts this year’s event, which begins today with the heats at Meadowmill Sports Centre in Prestonpans before the final takes place at Musselburgh on Sunday, with a handicap of 17 metres, 3.5 metres less than last year.

However, her victory 12 months ago in front of a sizeable crowd of over 5000 means that she goes into this weekend’s race far more relaxed than she did last year. “I feel like the pressure has been taken off me quite a bit this year,” she says.

“Last year, they were really counting on a woman winning it so there was a lot of eyes on me and a few of the other girls but it feels like that pressure has been taken off now. On the other hand, there is some expectation because people are looking at me to go back and defend my title.

“I’m not getting affected by that pressure though because I’ve won it once now and so I don’t feel that I absolutely have to win it again.”

Tomlinson’s winter training has, she feels, been going well and even the festive period failed to disrupt her training schedule with her only day off being Christmas day.

The teenager is confident that she has made gains in the past twelve months but having not run a competitive race since September, there’s always that element of uncertainty about what her form will be like once she is back in the heat of competition.

“I’ve been doing a lot of gym work which means that I’m a lot stronger and more powerful than I was last year so I’m feeling good and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens out on the track,” she says.

“It’s always hard to tell what’s going to happen when you start racing though so I’m looking forward to getting out there and finding out. I know myself what I need to do to run well but I’m not putting pressure on myself to defend my title.

“I know that I’m capable of some really quick times because I’ve done it in the past so I’ve got no doubts about myself but I’m not putting pressure on myself about getting a particular result.”

Perhaps the most pleasing thing for Tomlinson following her victory twelve months ago was the reaction she got from the younger female sprinters at her home club, TLJT Athletics Club in Jedburgh.

All too often in sport, male athletes are given higher prominence than their female counterparts but Tomlinson’s victory proved that female sprinters could take the contest to the men and her win showed her younger clubmates that the female sprinters have nothing to be intimidated by.

“I think in the past, the female sprinters have expected the men to dominate everything,” she says. “But now that I’ve showed that females can win this race and so hopefully that will make other female sprinters believe that they can win too.

“The young female sprinters at my club were absolutely buzzing after I’d won and that was great to see them like that, it was a really nice feeling.”

If Tomlinson can rack up another win this weekend, it will not only be a victory for herself, it will be a victory for female athletes everywhere.