Consolidated official results for our Guernsey competitors can be found
here.
Day 6
Relay boys fly the flag
Our much maligned relay squad acquitted themselves with a fine performance in the 4 x 400mtrs Relay placing 5th
in 3min 14.51secs, the second fastest time recorded by a Guernsey squad. Official splits:
Garland 47.8secs, Druce 46.5, Robinson 49.9, Bailey 50.2
The team was 5th across the line ahead of Mauritius and Vanuatu and Kenya
were DQ'd elevating the Gsy tyeam to 4th in heat and
9th overall by time so missing the final by 1 place.
Result: 1st England 5:05.34, 2nd Botswana 3:05.40, 3rd India 3:06.30, 4th
Guernsey 3:14.51, 5th Mauritius 3:15.78, 6th Vanuata 3:20.79 Kenya DQ
Rule 163.3 - running in lanes. Lee Merrien struggled with the conditions and the effects of a long season in the 10,000mtrs.
The first 3km was ahead of Lee's PB pace, despite him hanging out at the
back of the field. A difficult few km's followed before Lee mustered
his efforts and finished strongly. 14th place 30min 18.59secs
Day 5 in Pictures
Preparing for the start.
Tom Druce on his way to the fastest individual split in the team.
Hywel sets off on leg 3.
Matt Bailey finishes it off.
Bailey, Robinson, Druce & Garland
Dehli Medal Maids.
It was 29 degrees C when Lee started.
Day 6 Preview
Relay team get favourable draw. Mezza faces 15 opponents at 10,000mtrs
Our relay boys - Garland, Druce, Robinson & Bailey have drawn lane 4 ( the third occupied lane) in the first
heat of 2 - both featuring 7 teams. They have drawn Mauritius (Lane 2), Vanuatu (3), Kenya (5), England (6), India (7) and Botswana (8).
With first 3 to qualify and 2 fastest losers, qualification to the final would be a very big ask.
Lee Merrien takes to the track again, this time over 10,000mtrs. The start list features 15 athletes and
the race is presently showing at a revised 20:55 start time. This will need to be verified.
Day 5 - 10th October
Katapult Kylie just falls short of hurdles final spot
At tonight5s session at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kylie Robilliard ran a fantatsic 100mtr hurdles heat
to place 4th, one place short of automatic qualificatation to the final and an agonising .12 seconds slower than the 8th fastest athlete.
Once again she demonstrated that she is one of the fastest starters around, with the third fastest reaction.
Her time of 13.94 seconds was a season's best. Kylie summed up her race as equal measures of satisfaction and frustration.
Helen Hadjam lined up in heat 1 of the women's 800mtrs facing world class opposition and suffering from the withdrawl
of an athlete from Mauritius of a similar class. Helen ran a sensible first 200mtrs in 32 seconds, but the race at the front was led
through in a rapid 29.5 secs. Helen then solo'd round the rest of the race finishing 6th in the heat in 2:15.08
Day 5 in Pictures
Kylie addressing the hurdles and visualising her race.
Namaste!
Helen stretching out on the warm up track.
Helen drilling. .
Ready to roll.
A lonely chase.
Day 4 - 9th October
Hywel Robinson was on track first this morning in heat 2 of the 200mtrs. He did not get the best start and struggled with the occassion, finishig
6th in the heat in a time of 22.98 secs Naturally he was dissapointed, but he has gained greatly in experience which will stand him in good sted in the future.
After last night's panic when Dale Garland's name did not appear on the start lists for the 400m Hurdles we waited to see the revised list
with his name on it. The lane draw was not kind, putting Garland in the third heat in the outside lane in a heat containing
some of the fastest athletes.
In the race Dale placed 5th in 51.48 secs. If Dale had been in PB shape he would have had a real chance of reaching the final with an outside chance of
a medal. Afterwards Dale commented that he felt he executed the race very well and ran to the limits of
his current fitness.
On day 5 - Sunday we look forward to Kylie Robilliard running in her specialist event the 100mtrs hurdles and
Helen Hadjam in the 800mtrs.
Dale Garland
Starting from lane 8.
Day 3 - 8th October
Tom raced in semi final 3 and got a great reaction to the gun and hared round the first 250mtrs. The missed training and the
fatigue from the previous day's heat took it's toll in the final 150mtrs. He finished 8th in 48.30secs.
Naturally Tom is dissappointed but he can hold his head high and look forward to the relay on Monday.
This evening started with a scare as Dale has not been listed in the 400m Hurdles start list. However this has been resolved nd we await a new lane draw.
Some more photo's
Helen Hadjam, Alan Rowe (Team manager) and Kylie Robilliard at the warm up track.
Hywel Robinson and Matt Bailey train at the track within the Games Village.
Kylie Robilliard kitted up in the stadium.
Kylie's custom Nike shoes.
Day Two Competiton
7th October 2010
Today was the morning of 400M heats with two of our
guys in action Hywel Robinson was first up in Heat 2, Hywel said he felt
good in the warm up and ran a strong first 200m, there was a pace change by
the leaders in the second half of the race and the three automatic
qualifiers drew clear, Hywel was close to home athlete Harpreet Singh coming
into the final straight but faded slightly to eventually finish 6th (of 7)
in a time of 50.08, just outside his PB. Surprisingly England's Graham
Hedman was ony 4th and had to wait to see if he would qualify as one of the
6 next fastest qualifiers.
Tom Druce was up next in heat 4 and despite the injury and illness concerns
ran a strong race and was always in the hunt for a top three place Though
eventually 4th in 47.70 Tom went through, as Hedman did, as a "fastest
loser". The BBC cameras hung on Tom for a while after the finish and we can
imagine there was a lot of background paper-shuffling as they tried to find
out more about him.
The qualifiers by time was later extended from 6 to 9 and Tom finds himself
as one of 27 in today's(Friday) semi-finals. Interestingly for Tom one of
the slower qualifiers is drawn outside him so he has something to chase. His
semi is at 1:35 UK Time and should be available live.
Don't know how far we should go with the reporting of other sports but it
was good to see 2009 ATC Devil Take the Hindmost pacemeker Ian Powell
qualify for the semi final of the 100M Butterfly.
Day One Competiton
6th October 2010
Weather conditions were super oppressive in the stadium tonight - no breeze
and muggy, plus lots of flies.
Kylie had been very nervous during the day but, over came the nerves and
delivered a stunning performance setting a new PB - an electrical timed
12.20secs - wind was +0.0 and reaction time was second fastest to heat
winner Sally Pearson (AUS). Kylie finished 6th of 7 which was in line
with the PBs posted by the athletes. A time of 12:00 would have been
required to progress. The start showed that Kylie is world class over
the first 25mtrs !
Lee had a tough time in the 5,000mtrs - although the pace at the front was
eratic, he ran steadier paced laps. His position (15th) was on a par
with the rankings, Lee did not feel great and the time is dissapointing,
although the conditions need to be considered as a factor.
Finding our feet
29th September 2010
All of the team on site enjoyed a good night's sleep and took the
opportunity today to carry out some light training on the track which is
within the village. The track is part of an impressive sports facility
adjacent the athletes village. As well as the track there is a leisure pool,
a 9 lane 50mtr pool, a large sports hall, gym and other facilities.
Arrived !
28th September 2010
Over the next few days we are looking forward to Team Guernsey departing for
the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Once the attention turns back to sport
rather than the accommodation conditions we can take pleasure in watching
the largest ever team of Guernsey athletes attending the Games. The seven
athletes - the 4x400m quartet of Dale Garland, Tom Druce, Hywyl Robinson and
Matt Bailey, Kylie Robilliard, Helen Hadjam and Lee Merrien - will be
accompanied by team manager Alan Rowe and we can even lay claim to a special
link with the Team doctor Bill Barker (Poppy and Charlotte's dad). All the
athletes had to achieve standards that ensured that their participation in
the Games was thoroughly deserved and those involved in selecting the team
have been impressed with the commitment to training that they have made over
the past year or so, especially in the face of injury and illness.
We have made it, very efficient at the airport and a smooth transfer to the
Athletes Village - all the traffic is stopped for us. Appartments are
satisfactory, but snagging by Team Management continues. Facilities
generally good. Time to recover from jet lag now and get used to the heat.
On our way
27th September 2010
Departing from Guernsey today with the bulk of the Guernsey Team were myself
- Team Manager Alan Rowe, plus athletes Dale Garland, Kylie Robilliard and
Matt Bailey. We had a great send off from pupils from St Martins
Primary - they knew all the sports had prepared good luck signs and
generally made us all proud to be heading off to be representing Guernsey in
Delhi.
A message from Alun Williams - GIAAC Club President
24th September 2010
 Over the next few days we are looking forward to Team Guernsey departing for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Once the attention turns back to sport rather than the accommodation conditions we can take pleasure in watching the largest ever team of Guernsey athletes attending the Games. The seven athletes - the 4x400m quartet of Dale Garland, Tom Druce, Hywyl Robinson and Matt Bailey, Kylie Robilliard, Helen Hadjam and Lee Merrien - will be accompanied by team manager Alan Rowe and we can even lay claim to a special link with the Team doctor Bill Barker (Poppy and Charlotte's dad). All the athletes had to achieve standards that ensured that their participation in the Games was thoroughly deserved and those involved in selecting the team have been impressed with the commitment to training that they have made over the past year or so, especially in the face of injury and illness.
Before we send the team on its way we must also remember the athletes who so nearly made it to Delhi. Nathan Stevens and Glenn Etherington both reached the standards but fell short of the strict residential requirements, Louise Perrio acheived the standard but unfortunately too late in the season. All three athletes were quite rightly disappointed not to be going but let's hope that they follow the example set by Druce after the last Commonwealth Games when he used his non-selection as a motivation to become the top athlete that he now is.
But back to the team. We have no idea how they will perform as so much will depend upon the vagaries of competing in Delhi but if there is any justice then they will achieve the goals that they have set themselves. We say this because so many of the team have had to overcome illness and injury and make many personal sacrifices so that they can represent Guernsey athletics on a global stage. One of the greatest qualities of the team is that so many of them have been involved in athletics for so long. They are an inspiration to the rest of the club. It is not right to make specific mention of particular team members, with one exception. We persuaded Alan Rowe to become the team manager 6 months ago. It has been a huge commitment for him which he took on whilst still competing at an international level, coaching a pool of quality local athletes, looking after our website and nurturing Katie and Alex's running careers. Put simply we would not have a team without Alan's astute management and attention to detail. Thank you, Alan.
Perhaps the most important element in our team in Delhi is the inspiration it provides for our younger athletes. Glasgow 2014 is not far away and simply being around our Delhi athletes has acted as an inspiration for colts and juniors.
Hopefully we can post full details of the timetable of events so that we can share in the excitement. Well done, everyone, and good luck.
Alun Williams, President (and on behalf of ) GIAAC
The team
24th September 2010
Team Manager: Alan Rowe
| Athlete |
Event(s) |
| Mathew Bailey |
4 x 400mtrs Relay Team |
| Tom Druce |
400mtrs, 800mtrs, 4 x 400mtrs Relay Team |
| Helen Hadjam |
800mtrs |
| Dale Garland |
200mtrs, 400mtrs Hurdles, 4 x 400mtrs Relay Team |
| Lee Merrien |
5,000mtrs, 10,000mtrs |
| Kylie Robilliard |
100mtrs, 100mtrs Hurdles |
| Hywel Robinson |
200mtrs, 400mtrs, 4 x 400mtrs Relay Team |
|