Balfron siblings excel in Bedford
Chandler brothers are on form in decathlon
Balfron brothers Tom and Matt Chandler were in great form at the recent England Decathlon Championships in Bedford.
Twenty year-old Tom recorded a personal best score to finish fourth under 23 and eighth senior against a top class field of the best decathletes from throughout the UK.
He had a swift start in the 100m (11.53), followed by a season’s best 6.57m long jump. An excellent personal best in the shot at 12.07 saw him in 11th place after three events.
Tom finished day one with 1.80m in the high jump and 51.12 in the 400m - his fastest ever in a decathlon - to leave him on 3466 for 12th overall and fifth under 23.
Day two started with season’s bests of 16.31 in the 110m hurdles and 33.95m in the discus. Pole vault is one of Tom’s strong events and an excellent 4.22m lifted him up to 11th place.
This was followed with a decent 45.03m throw at javelin, saving his best to last in the 1500m when he smashed his personal best, running 4:26.70.
This lifted him to a final position of eighth overall and fourth under 23, just one place off the medals. Tom’s final score was an excellent 6667 points, making him one of Scotland’s all time top 20 decathletes - a position he has earned in every age group from under 13 right up to senior.
His younger brother Matt competed in the under 20 age group for the first time after winning numerous medals at under 15 and under 17.
Matt started well with a personal best 11.84 at 100m, leapt 6.06m in the long jump then set a PB 10.07m in the shot. An excellent 1.86m high jump was followed by another PB of 52.39s at 400m to finish the first day in 11th place.
However Matt was starting to feel a pain in his ankle at this point. He continued into day two with a near PB 16.19 in the 110m hurdles and 28.23m in the discus.
A club under 20 outdoor record in the pole vault at 4.22m followed and a pb 37.97m javelin throw but by this point his ankle was starting to swell and he was unable to continue.
Matt is confident he will be back to top form for the Scottish Combined Events Championships in July.