Helen Hadjam (right) dips for the finish line in Watford to better her own island women’s 800m record. (Picture by Mark Shearman, 0581252)
HELEN HADJAM has bettered her own island 800m record as the Surrey-based schoolteacher continued her brilliant early-season form in Watford.
Hadjam (nee Tolcher) won silver behind Kimberley Goodall at the 2003 NatWest Island Games on her home track at Foote’s Lane, but it was in the Dennis the Menace red-and-black vest of her UK club, Herne Hill Harriers, that the middle-distance specialist lowered her best time for two laps.
Two years after setting the island record of 2-12.60 at a May meeting in Watford, the 30-year-old returned to the same track for the Watford Grand Prix B race and took a full second off the mark with 2-11.59. Fine runs over 600 and 300m at Cheltenham recently suggested she was in good form.
Her 1-36.4 for the longer distance had briefly taken the island record until it was lowered to 1-36.23 by Goodall at last week’s Fortis Golden Series match. The teacher ran a sprightly 43.8 for 300m in Cheltenham and also clocked a 2-14.53 at a Watford Gold standard meeting.
Her next target is the 2min. 10.0sec. Commonwealth Games standard set for the 2010 event in Delhi.
Another hoping to be heading for India in two years’ time is quarter-miler Tom Druce, who narrowly missed out on selection for the Melbourne Games.
He set a new 400m personal best with a superb 48.07 in winning an invitational race at the Loughborough International on Sunday.
‘I was pleased with that because it was quite windy too,’ said Druce, who beat a good field from the outside lane.
Druce’s time is within the Guernsey Commonwealth Games Association-approved standards for Delhi and there is real hope within the GIAAC that Guernsey will be able to send its biggest ever track and field team to the Games in 2010, including a men’s relay squad.
Barring injury, Lee Merrien would seem a certain starter in India and he was pleased with his run at Saturday’s Great Manchester Run 10k.
His 29min. 25sec. represented a four seconds improvement on his island best and he was frequently spotted in the early stage of the BBC’s television coverage of the event.
‘I was happy with the time and a few of the guys were saying that with the slight headwind on the way back it was 10 to 15 seconds.’
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