Athletics: Mark Mitchell running out of time to make the grade for Delhi

MARK MITCHELL (Edinburgh AC) is not resting on his laurels after regaining the Scottish 800 metres title at Pitreavie last Sunday as he makes a last-ditch bid to make the qualifying time for the Scottish team for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Mitchell runs in the British Milers Club Grand Prix in Belfast tomorrow where his target is a tough one minute 47.80 seconds.

The second-fastest Scottish junior of all time over the distance with a time of 1:48.42, the 22-year-old is still not quite back to the form which took him to his first senior title in 2008, his best this season being 1:49.23. But he said: "I think I'm in good shape to run fast - I may or may not get close to the Commy standard but we'll see."

Denied any chance of a fast time at Pitreavie by the strong wind - he outsprinted a quality field in 1:52.83 - Mitchell still needs to record the Delhi standard twice to fulfil the selection criteria.

Regardless of this weekend's result, he intends to have at least one more race, possibly at another BMC venue at Stretford, before the 1 August deadline.

The strong field in Belfast includes GB internationalist, Ulsterman James McIlroy, who has a best of 1:44.65, American Brian Gagnon, who has run 1:46.0 this year, and James Shane, who has run 1:47.99 this season.

Like Mitchell, Kilbarchan's Claire Gibson won the women's 800m at Pitreavie in a time outside the qualifying standard but she at least has two marks from last season, set before injury intervened. She will try to get her season's best down under 2:04.00 in Belfast. .

Nony Mordi, another Capital athlete without a qualifying mark, would be a medal hope at her best in the triple jump.

Her Scottish record of 13.62m, set in 2008, is well beyond the Delhi target (13.30m) and the Edinburgh University fifth-year medic, whose last two seasons have been ruined by injury, gave a glimpse of her old form in taking the national title with a leap of 13.15m.

Mordi travels to the Birmingham Games tomorrow along with long jump hope Jade Nimmo (Falkirk) and is convinced she can make the mark: "15cm is nothing in the triple jump," she says.

Another Birmingham-bound Scot is Chris Baillie, who won the 110m hurdles silver in Melbourne four years ago.He needs another performance under 13.70 to be sure of being on the plane to Delhi. The Midlands forecast is unsettled.

Meanwhile, Cupar's Sarah Kelly (Dundee Hawkhill) finished seventh in the 800m in the World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada last night in 2:04.80.