JERSEY continue to prove themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the pool, as Clara Ginnis and Filip Nowacki returned to compete in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley and the Men’s 50m Breaststroke finals respectively.
It’s been a remarkable Games for Jersey’s swimmers so far in Glasgow. Records have fell, PB’s have been clocked and multiple finals have been reached, so all of us Caesareans couldn’t wait to see what else was in store this evening.
Ginnis was the first one to step into the spotlight, as she was greeted with rapturous applause upon walking out to lane eight. Being just the second-ever female swimmer to make an individual final for Jersey, she’d already etched her name in the history books, but how would she fare against the finest in the Commonwealth?
From the minute she hit the water, Ginnis gave her all with every stroke. No matter if it was the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke or freestyle, the Caesarean put together a valiant effort to establish herself as the eighth best in the Commonwealth.
“Just being out there was just incredible, I’m so happy to be there and one of my long-term goals was to make a Commonwealth final, so I’m so pleased to have done that,” said Ginnis.
“I’ll remember it for years and years, I tried to take it all in and the atmosphere when I walked out was just incredible.
“I just want to aspire to those people in my final making medals, it’s just an inspiration and I want to strive towards continuing to make my Personal Bests.”
Then came Nowacki’s turn, as he readied himself to step up for his second final of the Games, this time in the 50m Breaststroke. Given it’s not the event he’s best known for, with his strengths lying on picking off his opponents in the latter half of a race, there wasn’t any pressure – but with the talent that Nowacki possesses, you can never really rule out a medal.
This time round though, it wasn’t the young protégé who took centre stage, as superstar Adam Ramsay-Peaty stole the spotlight. Determined to prove he still had plenty in the tank, Ramsay-Peaty dominated headlines going into the race, as he was driven to flip the script and go for gold.
For what Nowacki classes as a “hit and miss” event for himself, the Caesarean once again impressed to stay well in the mix with the rest of the pack. However, when you’ve got elite sprinters at the top of their game in Sam Williamson and Michael Houlie, a medal was always going to be a tough task.
Nowacki’s valiant performance still made a statement, as he improved on his time from the semi-finals to end up with a blistering 27.20 and finish in fifth place.
Australia’s Sam Williamson had the dream ending he was hoping for to cap off his miraculous comeback from a devastating injury last year with another gold medal, while Houlie earned silver and Ramsay-Peaty took bronze.
“It was absolutely electric – I’ve said it before, the arena in there is absolutely nuts and the crowd was going crazy when everyone walked out, so it was a true pleasure to race some of the boys there.
“This definitely gives a lot of confidence, the 200m my main event and the 50m is a bit of a hit-and-miss for me, I just race it for a bit of fun. But that there was great and it gives me a lot of confidence having that speed.”
When asked how it felt to keep putting the Island on the map, Nowacki replied: “Ah, that’s very nice of you to say. It’s definitely great and it just goes to show that all of the hard work has paid off.”
There’s no sign of the swimming action dropping off any time soon here in Glasgow and, with Nowacki all set to take on the Men’s 200m Breaststroke competition tomorrow – with heats at 11.36am and the final at 8.42pm – anticipation for another medal is high.
