LOUISE PERRIO produced an outstanding performance of maturity and strength to recover from a fall and stride to gold in the Aland evening sunshine.

The Guernsey star looked in full control of her race plan in the 10,000m final held in the Wiklof Holding Arena, but suddenly the lead pack of five had a clash of legs in the home straight shortly after the halfway mark and Perrio was one of two runners to go flying.

The Sarnian could have panicked, but she didn’t. Instead, she got to her feet and just continued to plug away, gradually drawing in Alison Campbell from the Western Isles, who finished in bronze medal position, and long-time leader Bjork Olsen of Faroe Islands, who failed to finish.

It was a truly courageous run and the sprint she put on down the last 100m when she was already clear of the field showed just how much she wanted that gold.

‘It was horrible and hard, but rewarding in the end,’ said Perrio with a tired grin afterwards.

‘I had that fall in the middle of the race, which kind of broke things up – I just had to not panic.

‘The girl from the Western Isles had obviously been looking to make a move at one point, and that fall did not help me, but it worked out all right in the end,’ added the winner, who was the proud recipient of a bottle of champagne from Bailiff Sir Geoffrey Rowland.

Perrio (pictured) , who is also entered in the 5,000m and the half marathon, had targeted this race as her main chance of topping the podium during the week.