Cameron confident of semi spot
DISTINGUISHED 400m specialist Cameron Chalmers will begin his Gold Coast 2018 campaign tomorrow as he takes to the line of his first heat alongside several of the event’s big names.
The 21-year-old British Universities and England Athletics U23 champion is a particularly exciting prospect for Guernsey’s track and distance squad in Australia.
He brings with him a wealth of high-calibre racing experience, with the current highlight being his England Athletics U23 Championships 400m victory, which came bundled with an Island record of 45.64 seconds.
Despite having been sidelined by injury for much of the winter, Chalmers has retained his optimism following a solid build-up.
‘Looking ahead to the Games now, I have just had my final session in preparation and I am feeling pretty good after having a pretty interrupted winter with quite a few niggles and different little injuries to overcome,’ he said.
Chalmers has taken advantage of an extended acclimatisation period, enriched by recent victories in the Queensland and Sir Graeme Douglas internationals in his preparations towards making Monday’s semi-finals and, ideally, the final on Tuesday.
‘Especially for this time of year, to be able to open up and already have two races under my belt – winning both and running 46-mid – is actually pretty pleasing,’ Chalmers added.
‘I have had some good sessions here in the warm, I’ve actually been here for a pretty good time so I’m able to adapt.
‘I’m looking to obviously make the semi-finals and run a pretty big season’s best in the actual race itself.’
Chalmers will line up in lane two for the first of six initial qualifiers, with his 45.64sec. PB being one of the fastest times in a heat headed by Trinidad and Tobago’s 44.01 runner Machel Cedenio.
This is a microcosm of a stacked international field, which differs from Glasgow 2014 with the absence of champion Kirani James and world record holder Wayde Van Niekerk, but is instead headlined by Botswanan star Isaac Makwala.
Cameron Chalmers’ 400m heat takes place at 7.01am BST time tomorrow, so if you want to see it live, you will need to get up early.
Cameron’s younger brother, Alastair, will also compete over the Carrara Oval track, this time in the 400m hurdles beginning on Tuesday.
He has already demonstrated his prestige in the event with a national age-group title as well as a senior-level victory in the Island Games.
Lee Merrien and Sarah Mercier constitute Guernsey’s distance contingent and they compete in the men’s marathon and women’s 5,000m respectively over the closing stages of the games.
Live television coverage of Cameron, plus the rest of Guernsey’s competitors, will be available on BBC One and Two alongside radio coverage on Radio 5 Live.
