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'Guernsey's fastest man' retires aged 24

Joe Chadwick took home three gold medals and a silver at the 2019 Island Games in Gibraltar [Getty Images]

Sprinter Joe Chadwick - "Guernsey's fastest man" - has retired from athletics at the age of 24 because of injury.

He struck gold in the 100m final at the 2019 Island Games in Gibraltar at the age of 17 - one of three gold medals he won at the Games - to become the first sprinter from Guernsey to win the event since 2005 with a time of 10.82 seconds.

Chadwick also represented the island at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he ran a time of 10.60 in the 100m - a record for the island which still stands. He also won 100m silver on home soil in the 2023 Island Games.

He has now reluctantly decided to hang up his spikes but said it was not a decision he took lightly.

"It's been a slow decision," Chadwick told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"It's taken a while to beat me down, I'm a reasonably stubborn athlete. I've put a lot of time and effort into the sport and if it was my choice I would still be going.

"But I had a final conversation with my physio, who I've been working closely with for years, and the idea of the injury possibly getting worse - especially after surgery in August - made it all start to feel a little bit real.

"I always told myself that the only way I'd be able to leave the sport, having not achieved what I wanted to, would be to leave no leaf unturned and still fail.

"And it finally felt the sport was just saying 'no' to me."

A moustachioed Joe Chadwick (right), in white and green shorts, trails Adam Gemili, in white vest and red shorts, in a 200m heat at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Joe Chadwick (right) competed against England's Adam Gemili at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham [Getty Images]

Chadwick leaves the sport with Guernsey holding a strong footing in the makeup of athletics.

Alastair Chalmers became the island's first-ever medallist in the Commonwealth Games when he took bronze in Birmingham four years ago in the 400m hurdles.

And Chadwick said coming from Guernsey was a benefit to young sportspeople.

"Coming to the UK has been a real eye-opener for how much we get as athletes in Guernsey," he said.

"Looking at the clubs that my friends in the UK have gone to - and I'm talking about high-performance level athletes - their clubs don't give them anywhere near as much as we get.

"We are so lucky to have people like [Guernsey Athletics development officer] Tom Druce, who orchestrates this difficult to manage system. The sport is only on the up."

Chadwick said he would be happy to see his 100m record beaten.

"I hope they do [beat the record]," he told BBC Radio Guernsey. "I think the island's capable of much faster times than I set out."

You can listen to the full interview with Joe Chadwick on Danny Parkinson's sports show on BBC Radio Guernsey between 14:00 and 18:00 on Saturday, 21 February or via BBC Sounds.

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