After a fantastic opening ceremony on Day 0 of the Island Games, the action got under way in Guernsey for Ynys Môn competitors. It was the women’s shooting team who have earned top billing for us today as they picked up a fantastic silver medal in the Sport Trap Team event.
Catriona Duffy, Bonny Cunliffe and Nia Rogers finished second in the team shooting event and picked up Ynys Môn’s first medal in shooting since 2009. That silver medal today will give them a great boost ahead of more competition this week.
Athletes Progress To Finals
The athletics meet started with plenty of heats action at a very busy Footes Lane stadium. Previous medalist Ffion Roberts breezed through her heat in the 400m in a time of 56.58. The ladies continued the good form with BOTH Eli Jones and Teleri Jones qualifying for the 100m final. The boys also had their 100m heats. Cai Jones and Zachary Price progressing to the semi finals. The latter qualifying in the fastest time of all four heats.
Men’s Football Kick Off With A Win
Facing difficult opponents in the opener, Ynys Môn’s men footballers got off to the best start possible, scoring in the second minute through Liam Morris. The game against Shetland Islands with a tough physical battle and Ynys Môn weathered the storm, thanks in part to Carl Jones pulling off some brilliant saves in goal. With ten minutes to go, Sam Gregson rose at the back post to nod in from an excellent corner to seal a 2-0 victory. The women’s football team fell to a 6-1 defeat to Western Isles.
Other Sports Round Up
The sailors face a long week with ten races each, with the best eight races counting to their rankings. Dom Breen-Turner is in 5th overall after two races in the ILCA 6, with Michael Thorne in 15th. Josh Metcalfe sits in 2nd in the ILCA 7 category with Ryan Seddon in 9th.
Badminton started a long week of competition with the Team Event. They fell to a 5-0 loss to Guernsey but ran Gibraltar close with a 4-1 defeat; Matt Rankenhohn with a win in the singles.
Indoor Bowls had the privilege of being the first Ynys Môn competitors in action at Guernsey 2023. The team usually play lawn bowls and have medalled at previous Island Games tournament. This year’s tournament in indoor bowls, a big difference for the four. They fell to two defeats today in the triples; Guernsey (30-5) and Orkney (45-3).
Men’s basketball saw a welcome return for Ynys Môn as they returned to Island Games action after a gap of 16 years. They faced Saaremaa today in arguably their toughest opposition in the group. They went down 68-40, but have two games left to makes amends.
One of the best events to watch at the Island Games is the triathlon. Ynys Môn had six competitors in the event. Alys Jones recorded a DNF after an issue with her goggles during the swim, but she is also featuring in the athletics hurdles AND is rumoured to potentially be taking part in the Triathlon Relay “for fun” on Friday. Crazy girl! The triathlon team battled heat, drizzle and winds and came with creditable men’s individual results between 26th-38th out of 44 who started. Together, the men’s team finished 6th of 8. Penny Butterfield finished 17th out of 29 starters.
The female shooters stole the headlines, but the men’s campaigns also began. The men’s Olympic Skeet Team had a good result finish 5th out of 9. The men’s Sport Trap Team finished 6th of 7.