ISLE of Wight all-rounder Kelly Sotherton is quitting multi-eventing this summer to become a specialist one-lapper.

The 26-year-old, who finished seventh in the hepthlon at last summer's Commonwealth Games in Manchester, wants to channel her efforts into the 400m flat and hurdles.

Just back from a month's training with decathlete Dean Macey's coach, Gary Richards, in Los Angeles, Sotherton revealed at the Hampshire Track & Field Championships: "All I like doing is running and hurdling and I feel I've got more chance of being successful in those at world class level.

"I've been a multi-eventer since I was 14 and I'm looking forward to a fresh challenge."

Sotherton will stick with heptathlon until the beginning of July when she is due to compete in the European Combined Events Cup in Estonia with British number one Denise Lewis.

The Birmingham-based Islander warmed up by winning three senior women's events at Portsmouth - the long jump, shot and 100m hurdles.

Nineteen-year-old 400m prospect Robert Tobin of Basingstoke & Mid Hants was pushed all the way in hotly-contested 100m and 200m senior men's finals.

The Basingstoke & Mid Hants athlete, who is now studying at Southampton Univeristy, won Saturday's 200m just ahead of Channel Islander Kieran Palmer and had another close shave in the 100m final against his clubmate Matt Still.

Tobin aggravated a hamstring problem while warm-weather training in Cyprus five weeks ago and the Todd Bennett-coached sprinter admitted after his 200m run: "I've been a little bit worried. My hamstrings felt really tight today and I didn't relax at all." Tobin's training partner Melanie Purkiss has also had slight hamstring problems, but felt good after winning the 200m in a comfortable 24.32.

Team Solent's 24-year-old Commonwealth Games 4x400m silver medallist said: "I've had a niggle but I tried it out today and it was fine. It was nice to get a run-out and I was really happy with the first 100m."

Andy Frost, another of the area's elite performers, came good with a Championship best throw of 64.55 in the senior men's hammer.

Incredibly it was the ninth year running that the Isle of Wight strongman had written his name into the championship record books in a variety of age-groups.

Fellow Islander Bryony Frost struck double gold in the under-20 women's 1500m and 3000m - the latter in a championship best of 9.52.93. Her identical twin sister, Kathryn, finished second on both occasions, but the glamorous duo were outshone by Guernsey's Sarah Hume over 800m.

Up-and-coming race walker Nick Ball followed in his father Jim's footsteps by writing his name in the record books, clocking 13.29.8 for the under-17 3000m event.

There was disappointment for Team Solent's former English Schools' 400m champion Chris Bennett who left the stadium feeling groggy ahead of the senior men's 200m final and was subsequently disqualified from the following day's 400m event for not giving the track referee sufficient notice of his withdrawal.