Games target drives up performance - Druce

Chadwick is the youngest of five track and field representatives named in Guernsey’s wider Birmingham 2022 squad and looked set to miss out when the initial selection window ended at the start of this year.

But Guernsey Athletics development officer Tom Druce welcomed the 20-year-old’s late selection after a string of stellar 60m performances, including an outstanding Island record of 6.68sec and finishing fifth at the UK Championships.

‘Joe’s always been a hugely promising athlete and I’m glad he’s recently been able to demonstrate this and be rewarded with this opportunity,’ the development officer said.

‘Knowing him, I am certain that nobody on the team will go into the Games with a more focused mindset than him, so who knows what he can achieve?’

Druce is satisfied that his athletes have the appropriate credentials to compete on the Commonwealths stage, with both Cam and Ala Chalmers returning as university students Abi Galpin and Peter Curtis make their debuts.

Curtis was also on uncertain footing with his selection – he ran well within the 400m hurdles standard with his 52.00sec. for sixth at the 2020 British Championships, but he could not back that up last year.

‘Peter knew that he was at risk of not being selected because he didn’t compete as well in 2021 as in 2020, partly due to injury,’ Druce said.

‘In 2020 he came sixth at the British Championships, which demonstrated his credentials, and obviously like Abi, he is the right age to be considered a development athlete.

‘I am happy for Abi and Peter to be rewarded with this big opportunity. I know that both of them have been training appropriately irrespective of whether they were going to get selected and they simply need to keep the momentum going.’

Overall, Druce believes there is much to gain from the Commonwealths, considering the quadrennial spectacle a vital part of their athlete pathway.

‘I was always determined to utilise it in the right way for the development of our sport and to drive up performance,’ added a man who contested the 400m individual and relay events at Delhi 2010.

‘I know from coaching Abi over the past year or two that Birmingham has provided her huge motivation.

‘She wanted to hit that standard so badly and surpassed it significantly in the end.

‘Others who weren’t able to do so must react in the right way and reach higher again for 2026. That’s what sport is about – I know this from my own experiences as an athlete in the past.’