ENGLAND eight hundred metre star Jason Lobo is likely to miss this weekend's Commonwealth Games Trial at the City of Manchester Stadium with an ankle injury, but he is hoping that it will not spell the end of his Games dream.

The Blackburn Harrier life member, who also runs for Belgrave Harriers, points out that only two English athletes have beaten the qualifying mark of 1:48 and that the third place in the team need not be awarded until two or three weeks after the trials.

He believes that his left ankle, damaged in a freak training accident will be completely healed in about 10 days, and that there will be sufficient time for him to convince the selectors of his form and fitness.

Jason prepared for the Games by spending the spring warm weather training with other elite athletes at a camp in South Africa.

One of his training partners was Noah Ngeny, the Kenyan who caused a sensation at the Sydney Olympics when he defeated Hicham El Guerrouj to take gold in the 1500 metres.

The pair struck up a friendship and Ngeny presented Jason with a signed running vest for Blackburn Harriers which the club will display in their new club house.

There was also a memento for young harrier Matt Wood, the reigning under 15s AAAs Champion at 800m who received a hand written note "Train hard in 2002 and you will run 1:52."

Local interest in the trials will be centred around the Ladies' 10,000m which takes place on Sunday afternoon. The 25 lap race features Vicky Gill of Chorley Harriers and Blackburn Harrier Pauline Powell while former Wigan Phoenix athlete Lisa Heyes, a familiar figure in local road races, will also compete.

Of all our local athletes, only Vicky has a qualifying mark to her credit, sneaking under 34 minutes at the Stanford International Meeting in March.

Vicky finished second to Pauline in the Lancashire Cross Country Championship in the new year, but then when she returned to Florida State University a bone scan revealed that she had been running with five stress fractures! There were breaks in each femur and each shin and also in one ankle.

Doctors are confident that the problems are not bio-mechanical but were related to over training, so she is running less and cross training with low impact work like aqua-aerobics and cycling.

Pauline has had a change of heart and is plumping for the 10,000m after earlier indicating that she might favour the 5,000m.

With Paula Radcliffe expected to choose the shorter distance and certain to be selected, there will be an extra place to race for so it looks to be a wise choice.

The England cross country international is a genuine all rounder though and has strong credentials at both distances.

Last week she became the North of England Champion at 5,000m and in April she set a personal best 34:23.9 for 10,000m at Stretford in a race specially convened for the UK's top endurance women.

Becky White faces a less than ideal build up to Saturday's triple jump competition.

The former Blackburn Harrier has three exams at Bath University this week finishing on Friday afternoon, then she travels back home to Haslingden in the evening.

A niggling knee injury which put her out of action last week might have dampened her spirits but it is unlikely to hamper her this weekend as she strives to reach that all important 13 metre mark. With Ashia Hansen capable of 15 metres, Becky is one of three athletes expected to contest the other two places in the team. Michelle Griffith jumped a wind assisted 13:06m last week, while Becky jumped an assisted 13:09 at the tail end of last season. Debbie Rowe is the other leading contender. Good work by