LOCAL star athlete Ted Chamberlain made a strong start to his 2026 season on Sunday, as he placed sixth in the 1500m Men’s A race at the British Milers Club Sheffield Indoor Grand Prix.
“I ran a time of three minutes, 49.6 seconds, which is my third fastest indoor 1500m. I opened last year with a 3m 46s, so I’d have liked to run faster, but given I missed around six weeks of scheduled training in November and December due to a minor but persistent hip injury – as well as having a long journey the day before – it wasn’t a bad performance,” said the athlete.
“Perhaps I could’ve been a little braver, but I gave my all. I’m really fit, and winter training has been going well, but I’m lacking sharpness. I’m not worried though, as it’s all about being fully fit and sharp for the summer.
“It’s just good to be back racing and putting Jersey firmly on the map on the UK stage.”
The British Milers Club stands as the country’s premier middle distance athletics club, where the nation’s best middle-distance runners compete for the fastest times.
It was a great atmosphere, as Chamberlain detailed: “The atmosphere was really buzzing, indoor athletics feels really intimate with the noise from the crowd bouncing around, feeding through to you on the track.
“It was the first race of the year for many of the other athletes too, so there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation in the arena.”
With the event’s large scale came a stacked field of competitors. This included 2024 UK Indoor 800m champion Jack Higgins and his brother, Ted Higgins, U23 GB athlete Will Rabjohns and France’s Corentin Tixier, who presented a real threat with rapid 1500m times of 3m 36s.
Despite facing such fierce adversaries, the Caesarean never backed down, as he “relished the opportunity” and felt “right at home”. That attitude certainly aided his efforts, as he placed a respectable sixth.
Completing his first event of the year has only “fuelled the fire”, as the Jerseyman continued: “Going forward, it’s great motivation for the year ahead. As I’ve said, I’m right at home racing the top guys, and not running an incredible time has really fuelled the fire.
“For me, it’s made me hungrier than ever to keep my injury comeback going and prove I can win in the summer. I’m really fired up, so will keep doing the basics well and hopefully keep making those marginal gains I need.”
Following a huge 2025 that saw Chamberlain win three gold medals at the Orkney Island Games, there’s no sign of him slowing down as he’s keen to keep on pushing.
“My coach and I have discussed race-specific targets and I just want to keep steadily improving, so I can continue to grow at the top level and build up my stature. I want my opponents to get a bit of a sinking feeling when they find out they’re coming up against me,” said Chamberlain.
“Other than the UK Indoor and Outdoor Championships, there aren’t any big competitions I’m specifically preparing for, so it’s all about running fast times this year and seeing how far that can take me while doing the Island proud.”
