Merrien feels the heat and suffers

Tuesday 12th October 2010, 2:30PM BST.

Lee Merrien finds himself in the thick of the African challenge in the early moments of the gruelling 10,000 metres. (Picture by Paul Guillou, 1038060)

THE sight of Lee Merrien all but being lapped twice in yesterday’s 10,000m should be enough to prove just how tough the Commonwealth stage is for even the most talented Sarnian sports men and women.

The 2010 Games are over for the majority of ‘Team Guernsey’ and, barring a minor miracle, it will be a fourth successive one without landing a medal.

It was on the track that much attention was focused, as a host of the island’s biggest names were in action in firstly the 4x400m men’s relay, followed by that men’s 10,000m final.

In the former, the quartet of Tom Druce, Dale Garland, Hywel Robinson and Matt Bailey came fifth out of seven in their semi-final, beating both Mauritius and Vanuatu and then being elevated a spot by Kenya’s disqualification.