Matchmaker Druce ‘over the moon’
CONDITIONS are looking up and a wealth of athletic talent, both visiting and homegrown, promises to make for exceptional competition at today’s Intertrust Games at Footes Lane.
The 2018 rendition of Guernsey’s annual track and field pinnacle should be one to remember due to the almost unprecedented number of visiting national-class athletes taking part across the full spectrum of events.
Not since the Blue Islands Challenge matches between 2006 and 2008 which attracted full squads from crack clubs Birchfield Harriers, Sale Harriers and Woodford Green & Essex Ladies has there been so much quality coming to the island.
Confirmed within the super line-up are high-calibre English and Scottish junior teams together with several distinguished senior guests.
The men’s field includes such names as British javelin lead Joe Harris, Sudanese international 400m runner Sadam Koumi and 10.46 100m runner Eden Davis.
Meanwhile, British under-20 100m hurdles lead Anastasia Davies, top junior high-jumper Abby Hunt and Scottish 1500m runner Naomi Lang, among many others, will enrich the women’s side of the competition.
Guernsey and Jersey will join forces and present a combined Channel Island team to take on the visiting talent.
Our own Chalmers brothers will head the domestic challenge, with both Cameron and Alastair being in excellent shape to take on the visitors in their respective events.
Other top Sarnian athletes, such as Gotland 2017 100m silver medallist and ‘Guernsey’s fastest man’ Josh Allaway and Gold Coast 2018 distance runner Sarah Mercier, may also be pushed on to fast times by the quality of competition at hand.
But the majority of the record threats come from the visitors and, with the pleasant forecast and potential world junior qualification at stake, several all-comers’ records dating back a decade or more could fall.
Organiser Tom Druce is thrilled to see such a strong line-up following his endeavours to put the event in the national limelight.
‘Obviously, I am over the moon to put this field together,’ he said.
‘The support of England has made this possible in terms of actually stacking up a whole programme of quality rather than top athletes in just two or three events, so it has really worked out this time.’
The events on offer cover a range of field events together with the full complement of sprints, hurdles and relays, plus a couple of middle distance events – 800m for men and 1500m for women.
The senior action begins with the 100m hurdles at 11.40am and continues right until the concluding relay event at 3.45pm, while several under-13 inter-insular fixtures will also be interwoven into the day’s competition.
Events not to miss
Women’s 100mH, 11.40am
(All Comers’ Record, Andrea Vinet, 14.05sec.)
Men’s Long Jump, 11.45am
(All Comers’ Record Dale Garland 7.17m.
Women’s High Jump, 1.15pm
(All Comers’ Record Erica Bodman 1.67m)
Men’s 400m Hurdles 1.20pm
(All Comers’ Record Dale Garland 51.00)
Men’s 100m 2.15pm
(All-Comers’ record Craig Pickering 10.4)
Men’s 400m 2.35pm
(All Comers’ Record Dale Garland 46.50)
