SWIMMING
A FANTASTIC evening at the pool, which produced seven Jersey medals, was topped off by a sensational performance from the Island’s men’s 4x50m medley relay team who clinched gold setting a new NatWest Island Games record in the process.
The team of Ian Black, Tom Gallichan, Harry Shaloman and Garth Jackson held off a strong challenge from the Guernsey team in the evening’s final race to lift the roof of Les Quennevais.
Commonwealth Games swimmer Black had earlier secured Jersey’s first swimming gold in the 100m breaststroke, with an Island Games record time of 1.00.24.
The seven medals – comprising two golds, three silver and two bronze – from the first day of finals left Jersey second in the swimming medal table behind the Faroe Islands, which claimed an impressive 12 medals from the 11 races.
In the opening race of the evening session, it was the Faroes who claimed first and second in the 1500m men’s freestyle, with Pál Joensen setting a new Island Games record in claiming gold, while Jersey’s Cameron Donaldson claimed an impressive bronze medal to start the Jersey medal flurry.
Shortly after, Team Jersey’s Olivia Pollard was receiving the silver medal in the 100m butterfly behind the Isle of Man’s Charlotte Atkinson. Pollard’s success was followed immediately by Black’s first gold of the evening to raise the noise levels at Les Quennevais even further.
Gallichan and 17-year-old Shaloman claimed individual silver and bronze medals respectively in the men’s 50m backstroke, with Guernsey counterpart Tom Hollingsworth swimming a highly impressive 25.03 to clinch the gold medal.
In one of the closest races of the evening, Jersey’s Gemma Atherley was narrowly pipped to the gold medal in the 200m freestyle by Faroes swimmer Sára Nysted. Atherley had led with just 50m to go but was overtaken by Nysted who ended the evening with two golds and silver.
After that, the relays took over in two of the most exciting races of the night. In the women’s 200m freestyle relay, Isle of Man claimed first place by 33 hundredths of a second from the Faroe Islands. Jersey and Guernsey spent much of the race battling for bronze, but it was the Sarnians who ultimately prevailed pushing the hosts into fourth.
It was then over to the men, in what proved to the be the highlight of the evening for the home crowd with Shaloman anchoring the final leg to hold of the Guernsey challenge.
TENNIS
BEATEN twice by Billy Harris in Bermuda two years ago, Scott Clayton gained his revenge on the Caesarean Tennis Club’s courts on Monday afternoon, as he defeated the Manxman to steer Jersey towards a well-deserved men’s team gold medal.
Defending men’s singles champion Harris played out a high-quality and hugely entertaining singles match with Jersey’s number one, which captivated the sun-drenched spectators.
But, in the end, despite matching Clayton for much of the encounter, he was unable to prevent the Jerseyman from securing a memorable 6-4, 7-5 success.
Jersey began the day with a semi-final against Faroe Islands to contest. Guernsey stumbled at the last-four hurdle nut there was no such drama for the hosts as Clayton and Stuart Parker dropped just four games between them in defeating the Faroese top two, before James Connelly and James Faudemer closed out the comprehensive 3-0 success with victory in the doubles
While Clayton’s triumph was indeed the catalyst for the showdown triumph, it was impressive 17-year-old Stuart Parker who won the rubber that secured the hosts gold, putting Jersey into an unassailable 2-0 lead courtesy of a 6-2, 6-0 defeat of Marc Chinn.
Earlier in the day, Ella Taylor was the standout performer as Guernsey beat Channel Islands rivals Jersey in the final of the women’s team event.
Taylor got Guernsey off to an excellent start, beating spirited 14-year-old Tash Forrest 6-2, 6-2 but Jersey’s Eva Hurst defeated Jo Dyer 6-2, 6-4 to send the match to a decider.
The hosts’ management team opted for experience, hoping 41-year-old Rebecca Edwards and 38-year-old Clare Clarke could overcome Taylor and Dyer.
It wasn’t to be, however, as Taylor bossed the match and led the visitors to a 6-1, 6-4 triumph, claiming the gold medal in the process.
FOOTBALL
JERSEY must beat the Isle of Man at Springfield on Tuesday to remain in the men’s football competition.
No pressure there then but that was always the case, with them needing to to win the three groups games to qualify for the semi-finals.
Jersey now know that they have an inferior goal-difference to the Manx men so a victory is required to progress while the Isle of Man will go through if they avoid defeat.
Goals from Jack Boyle, an own goal from goalkeeper James Macleod and a tap-in for captain Luke Watson secured Jersey a 3-0 win last night in front of a bumper crowd of around 1,400.
With the Isle of Man defeating Alderney 7-0 earlier in the day, for Jersey to have passed them on goal-difference they would have had to have beaten the Western Isles by ten clear goals.
Many in the stands were hoping to see a goals-fest but that was never likely to happen.
The Western Isles proved stubborn opponents, Jake Baker and Rupert Murray both his the woodwork while goalkeeper Macleod made several some fine blocked saves.
BADMINTON
IT was as scintillating as it was dramatic, as nail-biting as it was mesmerising and it will long stick in the memory of the hundreds of Jersey fans who flooded the New Gilson Hall last night to watch their team secure a quite magnificent badminton team gold medal.
In a match that went the full distance and didn’t conclude until 11.30 pm, former England player Mariana Agathangelou and Commonwealth Games athlete Alex Hutchings who held their nerve to beat their Faroe Islands opponents 22-20, 21-16 in the decisive mixed doubles rubber.
That win ensured Jersey topped the podium in the team event for the first time in a decade – and it was exactly what player/coach Mark Constable had set out to do.
After topping their group with ease on Sunday, Team Jersey set up a last-four clash with Guernsey which they won comfortably yesterday morning, taking the best of five matches 3-0.
That sent the top seeds through to last night’s showdown with the Faroes and, with neither side dropping a single point en route to the final, something had to give.
Constable got his team off to the perfect start by comfortably beating Benjamin Gunnarstein 21-13, 21-2 but the visitors drew the scores level as Rannvá Carlsson defeated Emily Temple-Redshaw 21-7, 21-7.
Impressive pairing Niclas Eysturoy and Aksel Poulsen edged past Jersey’s Commonwealth Games duo Constable and Hutchings – 21-18, 21-18 – to put the Faroes in control but Kerry Coombs-Goodfellow and Agathangelou beat the Carlsson sisters (Brynhild and Rannvá) 21-12, 21-16 to set up the grandstand finish.
With hundreds of fans cheering on both teams to, at times, near deafening levels, Agathangelou and Hutchings secured the vital point – against Gunnarstein and Brynhild Carlsson – to the jubilation of the home support.
SHOOTING
IT was another golden day on Jersey’s shooting ranges on Day Two with another four golds won by the host Island’s marksmen and women.
Pride of place when to pistol shot Nikki Holmes with a brace of top gongs make it three golds in consecutive days and each of her two pairs and one individual win have been achieved with NatWest Island Games records.
Holmes, who is certainly at home on the range, yesterday won the 25 metre sport pistol with Mary Norman before later winning the women’s 25m sport pistol, the latter after winning a long drawn an Olympic final after a series of tie-shoots.
Three team silvers were also pocketed, by the ladies sporting trap trio of Kay Cragg, Caroline de la aye and Avril Rimeur, the women’s 50m prone smallbore rifle team of Sarah Campion and Sue de Gruchy and the men’s 10-metre air rifle team of Peter Le Marinel and David Turner.
Two other silvers were gained yesterday by Peter Le Marinel and David Turner in the men’s 10m air rifle team at Maillard Memorial Range in St Lawrence and by Sarah Campion and Sue de Gruchy in the women’s 50m prone smallbore at Crabbé.
Andy Chapman and Steve Bouchard were sixth in the men’s 50m prone while Chapman and Peter Le Marinel finished fourth in the men’s 50m 3 position smallbore rifle team event.
At the Billy Butlin Memorial Range in St John, Michael Quénault and George Winstanley took six position in the men’s 10m air pistol team shoot.
Jersey’s fullbore shooters opened their individual and team Queen’s Stage I shoots with Barry Le Cheminant registering a possible 105.15 v-bulls. Andrew Le Cheminant is third on 104.16 while in the team, Fabien Amy and Bruce Horwood are in second position, one point behind Guernsey’s Nick Branch and Rob Waters.
CYCLING
JERSEY’S men and ladies’ mountain biking teams slogged it out on a tough cross-country course in difficult conditions to claim two silver medals and a bronze for the Island.
The purpose-built track was deliberately challenging for the athletes and hot, dry weather only made things harder for them, as they weaved their way through the bracken and nettles, up and down dusty pathways and over obstacles, both man-made and natural, in 25 °C temperatures.
Rhys Hidrio was the highest placed Jersey rider in the men’s race coming in fifth with time of 1 hr 56 min and 12 sec, and while pleased with his performance, the 24-year-old could have found himself in a medal position with a bit more luck.
‘It was really tough track – everyone’s been enjoying it in practice, but with the heat today it was dried out and it made it even harder,’ he said.
‘I had a bad start and within a few laps I got a puncture. I changed the wheel but struggled to get in on the pace, so it wasn’t a great race for me.’
The men’s race was won by Nicholas Corlett of the Isle of Man, who led from the start and completed 11 laps in 1.49.55.
Despite looking comfortable and winning by a good margin, Corlett described the track and conditions as the toughest he had ever faced.
Many riders fell victim in particular to the specially-built ‘rock garden’ obstacle – a series of granite rocks piled along one of the paths, ensuring a bumpy ride and landing for anyone who ended up taking a tumble.
Jersey’s youngest rider, 18-year-old Ollie Lowthorpe, was the Island’s next fastest in the men’s race, finishing 7th with a time of 1.59.34, while James Patterson came 9th in 2.00.39, Richard Payne came 14th, completing 10 laps in 1.51.58, and Howard Greenside finished 22nd completing 10 laps in 2.02.00.
ATHLETICS
ZANE DUQUEMIN delivered on his promise to give the home crowd something to shout about last night; breaking his own NatWest Island Games shot putt record five times on his way to a brilliant gold medal at FB Fields.
On a night where junior Stan Livingston smashed his personal best to become 400 metre hurdle champion on his Games debut, British number one Duquemin set a new Championship record in each of his first five throws in St Clement, surpassing the 18-metre mark in the penultimate round to regain the title he first won in 2011.
While a new Games record will indeed attract attention, the efforts of Livingston in the first event of the night ensured praise was shared in the Team Jersey camp on Day Two.
The 18-year-old – who qualified fastest from yesterday morning’s 400m hurdles semi-finals (which claimed Island stalwart Peter Irving) – judged his race for gold to perfection. It was a narrow affair along the back straight as Guernsey’s Sam Wallbridge went out hard, but Livingston turned on the gas late on and climbed highest on the podium thanks to a new lifetime best performance of 52.96 seconds.
Elsewhere, Katrina Lindsay was also on form as she claimed sixth in the final of the women’s 100m – with a PB of 12.71s – and teenagers Yasmin Lookess and Gemma Gothard qualified for tonight’s women’s 400m final with huge personal bests of 59.42s and 59.70s respectively. Middle-distance hopefuls Elliott Dorey and Aaron Turmel both progressed into the 800m final, while there were 12th and 14th place finishes respectively for Jerseymen Finlay Wright and Phil Maguire in the men’s 5,000m – in which half-marathon gold medallist Chris Estwanik was out-kicked on the home straight by Gibraltarian Harvey Dixon.
