SCOTSTOUN Stadium bore witness to another impactful Jersey team display both on the track and in the field, as our history-making athletes kicked off the seventh day of competition.
First up was Lucy Woodward, who was looking to pick up right where she left off and keep the PB’s coming.
It really has been a remarkable Games for the heptathlete so far, as she’s been unfazed by the occasion to put together one of her career’s finest performances so far, scoring an immense three PB’s in the 100m Hurdles, High Jump and 200m events, with the latter more than earned after a battle with torrential rain.
With that impressive first day building up expectations, Woodward rose to the occasion in style, commencing her day on the right foot with yet another PB – this time in the Long Jump, with a score of 5.82m smashing her previous PB by 0.11 metres.
As Woodward then began to rest in advance of her next event, it was time for Steven Mackay, Jamie Oldham and Zachary Saunders to pick up the baton and shine for Jersey in the Men’s 200m heats.
Monday’s 100m heats came as a perfect introduction for the trio, with their blistering times only proving that Mackay, Oldham and Saunders truly do belong at this level. So, that only whet our appetites to see what they had in store for the 200m heats this morning.
Saunders took to the blocks first, eager to kick things off right in what’s known as his main event. The New Zealand-based athlete came out of the blocks with electric paste to go round the bend extremely well and be right in the mix, but as he hit the halfway point of the home straight, his pace dropped off slightly to leave Saunders with a respectable time of 21.29 seconds.
Mackay then followed to record a time of 21.70 seconds, while Oldham concluded the sprinters’ morning in style with yet another PB to add to his Island record-breaking 100m effort earlier this week, with a time of 21.02 seconds.
Although their Commonwealth Games have now come to a close after narrowly missing out on qualification, all three sprinters proved their worth as forces to be reckoned with and did the Island proud.
With plenty more in the tank, these sprinters are far from finished, as their performances and talent ensure they’ll be a problem at the elite international level for many years to come.
Woodward then re-emerged out onto the field for her last event of the morning with the javelin throw – could this be another PB?
After recording a strong 34.62m jump for the first attempt, the Caesarean just couldn’t top it at the second and third time of asking to see her fall short of a PB.
However, that still ushered in another milestone result for the heptathlete, as that stood as the best of her season so far, proving Woodward really is at the top of her game here in Glasgow.
With only the 800m left on the programme tonight, at 8.55pm, Woodward looks all set for what’s been a defining performance in her career.
