Glenn Etherington hands over to Dale Garland, but the GIAAC relay team messed up the final changeover. (0778004)

DALE GARLAND set a new all-comers’ best for the 400 hurdles to show his island colleagues what they will be missing at the Island Games in a month’s time.

Garland clocked 51.00 dead to better, by 27 hundredths, his gold medal-winning performance on the same Foote’s Lane track at the Island Games of 2003.

He outclassed a good field in the annual Mees Pierson Golden Series event, but one that did not include Welsh star Matt Elias, who made a late switch to the 200m and in winning that made his own impression on the crowd of a couple of hundred.

Most of Guernsey’s squad for Aland were on show and while a few disappointed and clearly have a bit of work to do in the next few weeks, others underlined their progress.

Top of that category was young Sarah Mercier, who ahead of her first Games ran a superb 3,000m, beat island record-holder Martine Scholes and came within a few strides of defeating Louise Perrio.