On the penultimate day of action at the 2019 NatWest International Island Games in Gibraltar, the medal count sky-rocketed for Ynys Mon as they won two golds and a silver on their most medal-laden day of competition at this summer’s Games to date.
Finishing second and first in Races Eight and Nine, Dominic Breen-Turner continued a streak of five straight race finishes in the top two positions to cement his status as gold medal winner in the Laser Standard Rig Sailing competition, topping Guernsey’s Andrew Bridgman and Saaremma’s Peeter Kaju in the standings.
It is the first individual gold medal for Breen-Turner, who is no stranger to standing on the podium at the International Island Games after winning a number of gold medals in team sailing events previously and also silvers in the individual disciplines. His Games are now over with the conclusion of all the sailing competitions on Day Five, but what a way to round off an incredible week for the 29-year-old.
Over in the Swimming, Eve Goddard-Smith found her best form at the perfect time, powering her way to a gold medal with a personal best time of 2:23.19 in the 200m Butterfly event, finishing well clear of the chasing pack.
Jac Jones-Hughes and Daniel Bennett were the only other two swimmers competing for Ynys Mon on the final day of swimming competitions, and unfortunately neither was able to progress to a final but they and all of the swimming squad should be very proud of their efforts over the past four days.
In the athletics, it was a fantastic performance from Ffion Jones to secure the first silver medal for Ynys Mon of the Games as she put in a huge, huge effort to finish second in the 3,000m Steeplechase event late in the day at Lathbury – a hugely positive performance for the young athlete. Lucy Lawrence also did fantastically well with her fourth-placed finish in the event – a huge effort from both athletes in a very challenging event.
Amelia Hucks also stood out in the 400m Hurdles Final, as she secured a fifth-placed finish. Competing in the discipline for the first time ever, Hucks started well and looked more and more composed as the race went on before eventually sealing a very creditable finish after a seriously strong performance.
In the 100m Men’s event, it was an Ynys Mon record for Zach Price as his time of 11.03s – identical times set in both the semi-final and final – was enough to top Gareth Ellis’ 24-year record in the discipline, which was coincidentally also set in Gibraltar back in 1995.
Two hundredths of a second prevented Price from being named as Ynys Mon’s fourth medallist of the day as he was so, so close to finishing third in the standings in the final, but this young athlete – like his teammates – has put in a number of strong performances throughout the week and should be very proud of his efforts.
Cameron Jones couldn’t quite progress from the 100m semi-finals to join Price in the finals, but in what is only his first year of athletics training, Jones should too be hugely proud of the results he has achieved in his debut year in the sport.
Ffion Roberts battled her way into the final of the Women’s 200m event with an impressive time in her semi-final, but couldn’t quite bag a second medal of the Games for her in the final in a very strong field – she will have another chance at a medal tomorrow in the 4x400m relay.
Mixed Doubles day in the Badminton was another great experience for the Ynys Mon teams to compete against pairings of the highest quality and despite not managing to overcome any of their opponents on the day, matches were decided on the finest of margins which is very encouraging for this team that is still very much growing and developing in the Games.
The Cycling events concluded today with the Road Race and It was another massive effort this evening as the Ynys Mon team battled hard in very windy conditions to compete well in the event.
All of our cyclists and their team manager Jasmine Sharp have been fantastic this week on a very challenging programme of events, and they should be very proud of their performances!
The Shooting events also reached their conclusion today and it has been a very beneficial experience for Ynys Mon’s team who have competed fantastically well across the Games so far against Olympic and Commonwealth standard athletes in their sport, and this experience will only help them develop even more as they continue to move forward and represent their island in the future.
Before the Masters event gets underway tomorrow to close the Ten-Pin Bowling competition out for this year’s Games, all of the athletes got together today for a quick photograph to celebrate a fantastic week of non-stop competition.
Ynys Mon’s Ten-Pin Bowling team deserve massive credit for the way they’ve competed and developed in setting new personal bests against a very tough field of entrants who compete at the very highest level on a regular basis. Many positives can and should be taken back to Ynys Mon by the team as they look forward to representing Ynys Mon again at Guernsey in 2021.
And finally in the tennis competition, David Parry advanced to the semi-finals of the Junior Plate competition after moving through his Round of 16 fixture by virtue of a walkover before succeeding to overcome Isle of Wight’s Regan Matthews 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter finals. A semi-final and possible final awaits Parry tomorrow after Sion Myers was knocked out of the Senior Plate competition.
For a full list of results and times, head over to www.gibraltar2019results.com, where you can find records, schedules, fact-files and all sorts of information about the various events and get all the latest official results as they come in.
Ynys Môn Island Games Association 