Dyke strikes gold for GB

CHLOE DYKE has won gold for Great Britain and a European Championship title. The young Guernsey girl was one of four members of the Phoenix Artistic Roller Skating club who travelled to Sardinia to skate the solo dance events for GB in the four-day Cup of Europe Championship.

Dyke and Emilia Bianco skated in the espoir category, which caters for 10- and 11-year-olds.

Competitors were required to perform two compulsory dances, the Denver shuffle and tudor waltz.

Both performed a lively shuffle and after the first dance, Dyke found herself head-to-head with an Italian skater for the gold medal, with Bianco lying in seventh.

With Dyke having to perform the waltz first, she set the standard for the others to follow, so with her graceful and smooth performance of this technical dance, she scored three 7.0s.

Bianco also showed some good edge running and with the final scores in, Dyke clinched the gold medal and European title and Bianco confirmed seventh position.

Dazed by the result, Dyke stood proud at the medal ceremony, taking receipt of the well-deserved gold medal.

Kirsty Chick skated in the youth age group and with this being her first European competition at solo, she wanted to prove her abilities to the panel of judges.

After a nervous start to her campaign, she found the judges split over her performance after the first dance, the Keat's foxtrot.

With a more-determined attitude Chick performed a technically-excellent imperial tango but again she was unable to convince the judges otherwise and found herself in 11th.

However, keen to move up the field in the OSP Charleston, Chick over-stretched herself in one of the official practices and suffered a back injury.

Despite all the efforts by the French physiotherapist to get her movement returned, it was decided that the injury was too severe for her to continue with the championship.

Darren Dyke completed the quartet of Guernsey skaters by showing his abilities, this time as a skater in the senior event.

Despite having only limited floor time available before these championships, he performed exceptionally well and placed seventh after the compulsory dances.

With the strong challenges from the Italian, German and French skaters, Dyke was able, through his confident performance in the freedance section, to fend them off and confirm his seventh place overall.