Chalmers returns home to break island 600m record
THE cold winds sweeping Footes Lane yesterday did nothing to stop Cam Chalmers from blazing to a surprise island record over 600m.
With an excellent ‘half-mile’ proving a secondary highlight of the fruitful Intertrust Track and Field season opener, the elder Chalmers brother stole the show after clocking a stunning 77.26sec. mark over the shorter middle-distance option on offer.
He has almost never raced outside his signature 400m distance since his first breakthrough in athletics but he certainly made his mark in this rare home appearance.
Although he shared the start-line with young Alastair in a race billed as a battle of the Chalmers brothers, Cam was the clear favourite for breaking Tom Druce’s decade-old mark of 78.27.
Neither expected an easy task as they sped away into the opening half-lap of extra headwind, but Cam quickly broke to the front and stormed through halfway some three seconds inside schedule.
They hit the inevitable slowdown soon after but both did a good job before crashing down spent at the finish, with runner-up Alastair’s 80.84 representing a new island U20 record.
‘The main thing was to try and break Tom’s record and to get a race going into the outdoor season,’ said the pleased winner.
‘I definitely think in better conditions I could have gone faster, but I’m actually really pleased with that time considering. Weather’s something you can’t control, no matter what the race is, so it’s also good to get used to having to deal with what you’re given.’
More in Monday's Guernsey Press.
