Chalmers aims to 'inspire' young Guernsey athletes

Alastair Chalmers' brother Cameron ran in the 4x400m relay at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo

Alastair Chalmers hopes he and Guernsey's other Olympic athletes can inspire the next generation of sports people on the island.

Despite a population of less than 70,000 Chalmers is joined by tennis player Heather Watson and Sark dressage rider Carl Hester at Paris 2024.

It will be a first Olympics for the British 400m hurdles champion, who qualified for the games in dramatic circumstances.

The 24-year-old ran the qualifying time when he won the British championships in Manchester, only to be disqualified before later being reinstated.

"It's a massive privilege coming from Guernsey and to get on this stage with the other two people - Karl and Heather - is amazing," he told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"I've always valued the support from the Guernsey people and we are so proud to come from there, so it'll be great.

"I think there's direct flights from Guernsey to Paris, so hopefully I'll see a few familiar faces over there."

Chalmers became the first track and field athlete from Guernsey to win a Commonwealth Games medal when he won 400m hurdles bronze in Birmingham two years ago.

He will race in one of the most competitive and highly-anticipated athletic events in Paris with Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin and Alison dos Santos, who occupy the top three spots on the all-time list, all vying for medals this summer.

"These are the biggest races of my life so it's going to be a hard one and I need to be in tip-top condition and execute well," said Chalmers, who just missed out on the final of the European Championships in June.

"I'm looking forward to giving my all and hopefully running some fast times."

He is hopeful that, however he does in Paris, he will inspire more young people in his home island to try to reach the pinnacle of their sport.

"I'm so honoured to race for Guernsey and take that into the GB team, and inspiring younger people has always been a dream of mine," he said.

"There's not many of us in Guernsey who can do that in athletics so it's been an honourable thing.

"I'm so glad to be at this level where kids in Guernsey doing athletics or football, or anything, can aspire to get to the stage I'm at. It's always doable if you work hard."

Alastair Chalmers proudly wore the Guernsey flag after winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 2022