Team Jersey, who edged over the 100 medals in total mark yesterday, have genuine contenders in most of the remaining sports today, with top titles at stake in athletics, badminton, golf, table tennis, tennis, shooting and women’s football.
It will be Islanders’ last chance to see to some outstanding Games action before the athletes march in (as sports, not islands) for a closing ceremony in Howard Davis Park this evening.
Another title, that of the women’s cycling town criterium, will be, disappointingly, decided in a closed room as Kim Ashton awaits the final verdict on whether a time penalty awarded against the Jersey team will stand and deny her a deserved gold medal.
Jersey, officially, added another 34 medals to their total by the end of play on Day Five, with eight of them being gold. Shadine Duquemin followed her older brother Zane’s example in winning a discus gold in a new Games record distance at the FB Fields; Nikki Holmes won her fourth pistol title from her fourth attempt; Mark Littleton set a 1500 PPC Open pistol record to add another gold to his Games debut collection, while rifleman Andy Chapman regained the men’s 100m prone title he first won in Aland six years ago. Practical shooting, featuring in the Games for only the third time, produced gold for Jersey pair Toby Cabaret and James Daly in the standard division team event, while the titles continued at Lecq Gun Club, with Mark Andrews winning the skeet individual gold as well as featuring in the triumphant English sporting team, along with Andrew and Jonathan de la Haye.
On the water, veteran sailboarder Steve Melia was awarded individual sailboarding gold when weather conditions wiped out the final scheduled day’s action.
There was huge drama with Jersey’s football ladies ¬– who have raised their profile enormously with their efforts over the past week – reaching their first ever final after coming from behind to beat Gotland 3-1. The excellent Aland team stand in the way of them collecting gold at Springfield this lunchtime, but whatever the result this week has been a triumph for Simon Petulla’s ladies.
Fifteen-year-old Jordan Wykes bids for Jersey’s first-ever individual table tennis gold today, with the top men’s title also being contest in tennis and badminton, by Scott Clayton and Mark Constable, respectively.
East and west, the Island’s golfers will be contesting gold in the fourth and final championship rounds at both Royal Jersey (men) and La Moye (ladies), with Gavin O’Neill well placed to retain his individual title on his home course in Grouville, hoping the emulate James Birch’s victory the last time the Games were held in Jersey, in 1997.
One last push – then it’s party time!
