High drama for Paris contenders at thrilling Olympic trials

The script was turned on its head in the men’s 800m, 400m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase in the UK Champs in Manchester on Sunday

On a day of thrills and spills at the Microplus UK Championships in Manchester on Sunday (June 30), the men’s 800m, 400m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase in particular were full of drama.

With Olympic selection at stake the much-anticipated 800m saw Elliot Giles and Josh Kerr crash to the track in the home straight as Ben Pattison strode to victory in 1:45.49 ahead of Max Burgin’s 1:46.01 as Finley Mclear, who was also impeded in the home straight, took third in 1:46.33.

Giles, Burgin and Pattison were locked in battle with 80 metres to go but Giles drifted slightly inwards from the outside of lane one and, oblivious to Kerr coming through on the kerb, the two men clashed and went down hard.

Pattison will now hope to win another global medal in Paris after his bronze in Budapest last summer, while Burgin, who was competing in his first meeting of 2024, continues to manage a sural nerve issue in his calf and Achilles but hopes to fit in some more races in the run-up to the Games.

“I went into today not thinking I had secured my spot,” said Pattison. “I wanted to go and prove I deserved that spot and the only way to do that was to go and win.”

With Mclear not having the qualifying time for Paris, selectors surely have a choice now between Giles and Jake Wightman, the latter being top of the UK rankings at 800m this year but given an exemption to miss the 1500m at these trials due to a minor calf injury.

A remarkable 400m hurdles was won by Alastair Chalmers in an Olympic qualifying time of 48.54 but only after a nerve-wracking and ultimately successful appeal against a disqualification.

The drama erupted when Chalmers false started. He claimed the music in the stands was putting him off but he was able to run under protest. Fired up, he stormed around the track, literally diving over the finish line as he clocked a championship record and Paris qualifying time, but due to his DQ the official win went to Alex Knibbs with 49.37.

Full of emotion, Chalmers launched an immediate protest and was involved in heated discussions with officials as he made his case. Later, it was announced that he had been successful, a decision that proved popular with the crowd.

“This is the best day of my life, but  it’s been the most stressful couple of hours of my life as well,” said the Guernsey athlete,…