Galpin rewrites the record books again with latest 400m feat
Abi Galpin has become the first Guernsey woman – and the first female athlete on Sarnian soil – to break the 55sec. barrier for 400m.
Galpin’s storming 54.96sec. run made her the star of the show at Sunday’s round two of the Aztec Track and Field Series.
Not only did she lower her own Island record down from 55.22 at Footes Lane, she also eclipsed the all-comers’ mark of 55.17 that Emma Anderson had set while representing England U20s at the celebrated ‘Guernsey International’ in 2018.
Coming off the magnificent highs of Commonwealth and home Island Games years, Guernsey’s fastest woman may appear short of such major focuses this season.
But this step up to the quarter-mile is already reaping rewards.
‘I’m really happy to have broken the 55sec. barrier,’ the 23-year-old said.
‘There’s no international event this year, but it’s quite nice actually because it’s giving me a chance to explore the 400m a little bit without any high stakes.
‘I’m quite enjoying exploring that new event, but I’m looking to focus again on the 100m and 200m nearing the end of the season.’
Galpin is hoping to use the ‘Southerns’ in early June to race the 400m in a championship environment.
That will be followed by the England and UK Athletics Championships, for which she has not settled on events but will probably return to shorter sprints.
Overall, the 400m is still a learning experience for Galpin.
She had suffered from an overly-quick first half in her season opener 10 days earlier, where she clocked 55.70, so pacing was paramount in this second attempt.
‘I still went borderline too quick through 200, which was my big mistake last time, because then my closing 200 was really slow in that first race.
‘This race, all the time I made up was in that last 200, so I’m really happy to have run it a bit better.
‘Building up race fitness and stuff, I’m hoping I can improve on that closing 200 going forwards.’
The multi-talented sprinter, whose Guernsey record for 200m is 23.82, admits that her target halfway split of 26sec. feels ‘slow’ for her.
‘If I go through in below 26, I’m just going to die in the last 200.
‘It’s effectively holding myself back, and trying to be efficient and not waste any energy, which is new to me – I’m used to just going for it in the 100 and 200. It’s definitely a new experience.’
