Olympic bids remain in the balance

Monday 17 June 2024

As the clock ticks down to the Olympics, both Alastair Chalmers and Heather Watson have hopes of making it to Paris.

But there are no guarantees, and while Chalmer’s fate is in his own hands, for Watson it is a waiting game to see if she can make the doubles draw based on rankings.

Chalmers was an agonising 0.06s shy of the Olympic Qualifying standard for 400m hurdles when he ran a lifetime best 48:76s in the semi finals of the European Championship.

He now has three chances to make the grade, beginning tomorrow in Finland’s Paavo Nurmi Games in a field that has three runners that have gone under 48 seconds before.

On Saturday he will travel to Switzerland for the ATLETICAGENEVE meeting, before competing in the UK Athletics Championships on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 June.

Watson says her goal of making her fourth Olympics has led to her sacrificing her singles career in the last year.

She has been nominated to play alongside British number one Katie Boulter in the women’s doubles, but their appearance will depend on whether their combined rankings are enough.

Watson won her first singles match at WTA Tour level since February at the Nottingham Open last week when she beat Kayla Day in three set.

"My biggest goal in the last 12 months was to play in my fourth Olympics in Paris," she said.

"So I put a big push on doubles in the last 12 months. I started off playing every week.

"It was after Wimbledon where I set that goal for myself because I just wanted to give it a good old go.”

Her focus will then switch back to the singles.