JERSEY bowlers Ross Davis and Lindsey Greechan returned from a successful trip to the 2024 Bowls Europe Championships, having secured a myriad of medals as well as leading the Jersey team to a top-five finish overall.
Ten local bowlers, including Davis and Greechan, competed at the championships in Ayr, Scotland, as the prestigious event showcased the skills of 181 athletes from 18 countries across 11 different disciplines, including events for those with disabilities.
Davis’s successful week culminated in two silver medals, while Greechan returned with one silver and one bronze.
In the men’s singles, Davis recovered from an early defeat to the Czech Republic with wins against Hungary (21-5), the Isle of Man (21-6), Spain (21-16) and Sweden (21-13).
The semi-finals saw Davis take out Scotland (21-10), but sadly he was pipped to the title by England’s Joe Dawson in the final (21-15).
Likewise, in the women’s singles, Greechan also suffered an early loss, this time to the Netherlands.
Much like Davis, she also fought back, defeating England (21-19), Isle of Man (21-11) and Scotland (21-19).
Greechan proceeded to topple Guernsey’s Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Lucy Beere (21-19), in an epic Channel Island semi-final.
The final saw the Islander in a rematch with England’s Amy Pharaoh, but this time the spoils went the way of Pharaoh (21-6).
After the final defeat, Greechan said: “To win the group having faced England and Scotland was an amazing achievement. They’re both traditionally very strong teams.
“The semi-final against Lucy [Beere] was a great game to be a part of. The standard was really high so it was particularly pleasing to get across the line in that one.
“To come away with silver is a great achievement and I’m over the moon about it.”
Greechan teamed up with daughter Chloe in the women’s pairs. Together, they bested Spain (19-9), Turkey (27-6), Israel (11-9), Isle of Man (17-13) before losing their final group game to Ireland (13-17).
They progressed regardless, but it was not to be for the family duo in the semi-final as they succumbed to England (6-19).
Nevertheless, the Greechans bounced back in the bronze medal match against Scotland (23-10).
Chloe said: “I was delighted to get over the line against Scotland and secure a bronze medal.
“We came through a group full of tough nations, but I thought we played excellently throughout and deserved to go through.
“It’s not every day you can say you won a medal at the highest level with your mum, so I’m so happy with the result.”
Lindsey added: “To play pairs at this level with your daughter is special itself, but to get a bronze medal was the icing on the cake.”
For the men’s pairs, Davis was joined by Kevin Le Long. Recording wins against Turkey (27-7), Switzerland (24-8), Sweden (30-4), England (15-12) and Guernsey (16-13), the tandem advanced undefeated in their group.
Subsequently, Davis and Le Long triumphed in the semi-final over the Netherlands (22-14), but Ireland brought their winning streak to an end in the gold-medal match (12-19).
Jersey’s women’s triples team was represented by Fiona Archibald, Rachel MacDonald and Megan Kivlin. The trio recorded wins against Israel (19-16), Spain (14-11) and Turkey (29-8), while their defeats came at the hands of Scotland (5-31) and England (7-26).
Another Davis was in action in the men’s triples, as Greg Davis competed alongside Malcolm De Sousa and Dave Black.
The side recorded a win against Spain (19-10), and another against Turkey (29-10), narrowly losing out to the Isle of Man (16-18) and Scotland (20-21).
Chloe Greechan represented Jersey again in the Ladies Fours alongside Archibald, MacDonald and Kivlin.
The quartet walked away with wins against Spain (21-5) and the Czech Republic (18-9) but lost out to England (9-16), Isle of Man (9-14) and Wales (14-18).
Meanwhile, the men’s fours saw Greg Davis alongside De Sousa, Le Long and Black, besting Turkey (26-8), the Netherlands (15-12) and Spain (26-4). Their loss came at the hands of Scotland (9-17).
Ultimately, Scotland won the team event, with the other home nations taking the next three places.
Jersey finished in a very credible fifth place out of the 18 countries, proving once again that they can compete with the very best on the big stage.
