Bartram finishes strongly to complete west-coast hat-trick

Winning Tuesday’s Vazon Mile has allowed him to seal a third consecutive title in the annual event and while his 4min. 28sec. clocking was three seconds outside his equal winning times of the last two, the tactical manner made the victory just as rewarding.

The conditions added further value as, although undeniably pleasant, the 2019 edition lacked the welcome assisting breeze seen in some previous years.

A sizeable pack headed by several young middle-distance stars formed from the gun and younger Bath University ally Alex Rowe provided some key work at the front.

They kicked on approaching the Vistas finish and Bartram just about got the better of his Island Games teammate, although U17 Chris Bain stormed in behind to share Rowe’s time of 4-29.

The winner has demonstrated strong recent form over such distances after narrowly losing out on a Games 800m spot.

‘It felt like a steady but comfortable start for me, echoed by the fact we had a big pack until the very end,’ Bartram said.

‘My aim was just to hold on as long as I could and with about 400m to go I felt like I’d be able to put a kick in for the finish – even with 20m to go I still wasn’t sure who’d get it.

‘Winning three meant quite a lot given that this was a bit of a breakthrough race for me two years ago.

‘It was also a huge confidence boost after a string of poor races that I’ll take going into Gibraltar.’

• More in Thursday's Guernsey Press.