Guernsey have 'good medal shots' at Southern Championships
BOTH Chris Bain and Abi Galpin have both been backed as senior medal contenders at this weekend’s Southern Championships.
Athletics development officer Tom Druce has highlighted those two prospects, who will be joined by fellow seniors Vicky Hancock and Jack Le Tissier, plus U20s Kate Bain and Emily Pike, at the Thames Valley Athletics Centre in Windsor.
The elder Bain sibling and Galpin are both previous county champions, while the latter already has several solid results at Southern indoors level to her name.
‘They’ve both got good medal shots there,’ Druce said.
‘Emily and Jack, it’s probably mostly for the experience, and Kate and Vicky, they’re somewhere in-between.’
But Druce is quick to describe the championship environment as ‘very different’.
Both will be contesting events they are unfamiliar with racing at championship level, as Galpin will be going over 400m – a change in focus for the record-smashing sprinter – and Chris Bain takes on the 1,500m following his breakthrough run in Belgium.
‘It will be a really good opportunity to test themselves,’ Druce added.
‘”Baino” is at a new level of performance, and Abi’s in a new event.’
Le Tissier will be stepping down from the steeplechase to also race over 1,500m.
Kate Bain goes in her favoured 800m, Pike doubles up in the short sprints, and Hancock competes in both the long and triple jump.
