France’s flying star denies Cam

Guernsey’s 400m great knew exactly what needed to be done at the European U23 Championships in Sweden and his final was a fast and gutsy effort, earning him silver after Saidy edged past him on the line.

Eventual winner Saidy had made a statement from weeks out that he was the one to beat.

Having surged to the top of the European age-group rankings two weeks prior, the Frenchman was not afraid to put on a show in the preliminaries, producing two confident wins.

The final had been set up from the start to provide a riveting duel.

Lining up in lane five with a clear view of his rival just outside, the Sarnian stormed out and had established a healthy lead by halfway.

The task from there was simply to hang on and he came frustratingly close, carrying his lead into the dying metres before the surging Saidy dipped past him at the very end.

Chalmers clocked a season’s best 45.92sec. to Saidy’s new European U23 leading 45.79 as Italy’s Brayan Lopez followed quickly in third.

‘I was winning until the last 10m and I ran to win, so it’s a shame not to,’ said an athlete who had given it his all.

‘I attacked it and just didn’t have enough at the very end. I’m not super happy with silver because I should have won, but once I’ve gone home and had a chance to regroup, I might feel happier with it.’

n Chalmers was last evening due to spearhead GB’s title defence in the 4x400m relay.