Series returns with athletics on a high
With the afterglow of the Commonwealth Games still burning brightly, competitive track and field action returns to Footes Lane on Sunday.
While there are some familiar names on the entry list, there are also some taking advantage of the variety on offer to have a crack at some events they are not normally associated with.
The Guernsey Athletics’ ActiveGsy Track & Fields Series had served up nine meetings before a break to allow work on the track.
Action in the tenth gets under way at noon with the hammer and 100m, which has attracted the biggest field of the day.
A total of 11, U13 boys and girls will take part hoping to break their previous bests to accumulate points in the Compete Against Yourself series which is running at each meeting for younger athletes.
Middle distance runner Chris Bain continues to experiment with the sprint distances and goes in the third race which will span the generations, from a pair of U15s in Theo Le Tissier and Tyrese Kelly to M60 Chris Chalmers, who will be cheered on from the grandstand by his son Alastair, fresh from his bronze medal winning performance in Birmingham.
Fellow Commonwealth Games athlete Abi Galpin goes in the first senior race at 12.10pm which features a strong female field.
Galpin is then among 13 athletes taking part in the long jump, revisiting a discipline she last competed in three years ago at the Gibraltar Island Games.
Action in the field continues at 12.50pm with a senior discus competition, where Tom Brierley and James Bougourd continue to chase Island Games standards.
Fast times are expected in the 800m, with a field that includes Alex Rowe who only last month clocked a new PB of 1:54.28 having also set a new best over 1500m this summer (3:56.71).
Also on the starting line will be Will Beasley, who has knocked more than four seconds off his time over the course of the ActiveGsy series, clocking 2:04.18 last time, while Jack Le Tissier, fresh from winning the Vazon mile last week, will be looking to go under the two minute barrier.
Moving to the other end of the distance spectrum, the 5000m is at 1.25pm.
Among the 21 names entered are Richard Bartram, who lowered his quickest time at the distance to 15:11.20 at July’s Milton Keynes 5000PB Special.
Nix Petit clocked an Island Games B-standard when she ran 18:27.94 the last time the 5000m was included in the series in May and will have one eye on the 18:10.00 barrier which would give her the A-standard.
The meeting closes with three races over 200m from 1.50pm.
Four athletes lining up in the women’s race have all gone under the Island Games standard, where record holder Galpin is joined by Amelia Hart (U20), Isabelle Lowe (U17) and Emily Pike (U17).
Following that, Lucas Rive is the fastest on paper in the men’s 200m which closes out the meeting.
Full start lists and times are here.
Before the action gets under way, Alastair Chalmers will be taking part in a Q&A where there is also a chance to see his bronze medal. All are welcome. It starts at 11am.
The final meeting of the ActiveGsy Series is on Sunday 4 September, but before that there is a chance to compete over 10,000m. That race is on Thursday evening, and entries can be made here.
