The first gold came in the men’s compound, which Heath Perrett won with 1,291 – 21 points ahead of team-mate Rich Robinson, who was second with 1,270.The second gold came in the team compound, with Perrett, Robinson and Angela Perrett (sixth in the women’s compound with 1,193) recording a winning total of 3,754 points.
In second place were the Faroes with 3,749 and third were the Isle of Man with 3,707.The final gold came in the team recurve, where the combined total of 3,217 from sixth-placed Damien Le Gresley (1,080), seventh-placed Gary Thompson (1,077), in the men’s, and fourth-placed Liz Pomroy in the women’s individual discipline gave them a total of 3,217.
Second were Shetland, the hosts of the next Island Games, with 3,170 and third were the Isle of Wight with 3,131.As for the one that got away, Liz Pomroy explained: ‘I was in second place in the individual recurve with 12 arrows to go.
Normally at 30m I would score over 100 but I had a terrible last 12.
I scored 77.’Unaware of what Liz Pomroy was going through, her two chief rivals, Helen Wolstencroft from the Isle of Man and Jennifer Ham from the Isle of Wight, both scored well in excess of 100.So at the end of the competition Wolstencroft won silver with 1,074 and Ham won bronze with 1,069.
Pomroy was fourth with 1050.By then none of them could have caught the eventual winner, ex-Northern Ireland international Gail Reilly, who scored a massive 1,172 points.Both competitions began on Monday when the distances were 90m and 70m for the men and 70m and 60m for the women.
Each competitor had three dozen arrows to fire, the same number as they shot yesterday, this time at 50m and 30m for both sexes.
Conditions, however, were not always favourable.’During the last session the swirling winds meant we all finished up to 40 points down,’ said Perrett, ‘but I’m not complaining.
It was the same for everyone.’Today and tomorrow the archers begin a new competition, one not seen in the Island Games before, a head-to-head when the top seed takes on the bottom with 18 arrows at 70m.
The loser goes out, the winner moves on until only two archers remain.For the finals, in men’s and women’s recurve and compound, each competitor is restricted to 12 arrows, which they fire in turn.
If all goes well, the same competition will feature in Shetland.As for the Jersey squad, before the results were announced just after 4 pm yesterday, a crestfallen Liz Pomroy was worried that those last dozen arrows, which had refused to fly straight, would cost her team-mates the gold.
She need not have worried, and as the strains of Ma Normandie were played three times in all on the Port Soif field, she beamed and, asked how she felt, replied with a word which other Jersey bowmen were to echo later: ‘Ecstatic,’ she said, ‘ecstastic.’Other Jersey positions were: Men’s compound: 13 Steve Jacobs (1,219), 14 Shayne Munday (1,212).
Men’s recurve: 11 Geoff Hairon (1,009), 18 Martin Pomroy (941).
Women’s compound: 9 Daryl Jacobs (1,052).
Women’s recurve: 9 Karen Daw (883).
