Games debut 'phenomenal' says Manx athlete

Taking part in the Commonwealth Games is a "phenomenal" experience, a Manx athlete has said.

Christa Cain was a late call-up to the Isle of Man team after Sarah Astin was forced to withdraw from the competition through injury.

Cain competed in the women's 5,000m final on Thursday evening on the track in Glasgow. Despite placing at the back of the field, she recorded a season best time for the distance of 16:51.46.

"I've got to be happy and yeah, just what an experience really," she said.

Cain is part of a 27-strong team of athletes from the island taking part in the games in Glasgow.

As Cain was more accustomed to running marathons and half-marathon distances on the roads, she said having just three-weeks to prepare for the shorter distance meant the race was "probably harder than I anticipated", she told Manx Radio Sport.

"I guess I just ran out of time in preparation, and the challenge is you don't want to do too much or adapt your routines too much because you just risk niggles and picking up injuries," she added.

However she said she was "very lucky" to be taking part in the games and had run the race she set out to.

"Everything in your head is telling you to just run with them and stick with the pack because that's what I would normally do over the longer distance," she said.

"But if I was to do that, I would have blown up and probably got a DNF.

"I'm quite proud of myself and how I ran that today and just did my own thing.

"As hard as it was sitting at the back, literally no man's land on my own."

She said the experience of taking part and the noise of the crowd during the race had been "really cool".

"It's the kind of thing you watch on TV and it's not even reality to think you'll be stood watching it in person, let alone lining up and being on the same track, literally shoulder to shoulder with these girls," she said.

"It's just phenomenal."

Elsewhere at the games, the Manx bowls team were in action again on Thursday.

Caroline Whitehead narrowly lost out to Bridget Herselman of South Africa in the Women's Singles Sectional Play.

She said she was "really proud" of her performance after nerves got the better of her in earlier games.

"My first game I literally just went to pieces at the beginning of it so to pull myself back from that game and then to play again like I have today, I'm really proud of myself," she said.

Meanwhile the pairing of Mark McGreal and Michael Collister lost out to South Africa's Jason Evans and Paul White in the latest round of the Men's Pairs sectional play.

It marked the third loss, which was "certainly not the start we wanted", McGreal told Manx Radio Sport.

However, Collister said he was "still confident that I can win all three remaining games", adding: "On paper that's the three hardest ones out of the way so it should get better but everyone's pretty good here so no easy games."

As well as more from the bowls team, cyclists Matthew Bostock and Ben Swift will be in action at the velodrome as part of Friday's programme of events.

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