Arguably the surprise package of the week as far as Team Guernsey are concerned, the women’s road cycling team came up trumps again as they graced the top step of the podium once more, this time in the town criterium, off the back of individual silver and bronze medals for Hannah Kennedy and Pippa Inderwick respectively.
It meant triathlete Kennedy topped and tailed the Games by being a member of both the first Guernsey team to win gold and the last.
From silver two years ago, to Orkney gold
While the female cyclists were mid-race, Guernsey athlete Darcey Hodgson shone in the Kirkwall sunshine on the track as she went one better than two years ago by winning the women’s 800m title with a brilliant gun-to-tape victory.
After going out strongly and controlling the middle part of the race, Hodgson held off the charge of home athlete Emily McArthur on the final bend to win the race by less than half-a-second in 2min. 12.89sec. with young teammate Kate Bain coming home in sixth.
Hodgson was also a member of the Guernsey 4x400m women’s relay team who claimed a fine silver in the final event on the track, with Abi Galpin defying the injury that prevented her from defending her own 200m title earlier in the week to run a gutsy anchor leg and hold off the challenge of the Faroe Islands in a race won by Orkney, to the delight of the home crowd.
Amelia Hart and Emily Pike were the other members of the Guernsey quartet and they had both featured in the 4x100m final, too, earning a bronze medal alongside Tilly Beddow and Rhiannon Dowinton as they finished third behind Orkney and Shetland in 48.69sec.
In the men’s 800m, Gian-Luca Robilliard took a fine bronze, just ahead of teammate and the previous night’s 5,000m hero Chris Bain.
Injuries prevented Guernsey from taking their place on the start line in the men’s 4x100m final and the Sarnian men were fifth in the 4x400m race, but earlier there was a bronze for the half-marathon trio of Sammy Galpin, James Priest and Ethan Woodhead.
Tapp and Trebert on badminton podium
On the Pickaquoy Centre badminton courts, the Faroes pairing of Magnus Dal-Christiansen and Runi Oster lived up to their favourites billing as they overcame Alex Tapp and David Trebert in the men’s doubles final, 21-11, 21-12, but a silver medal was an impressive achievement in itself for a Guernsey combination not seeded to get past the quarter-finals.
The last day had even started with good news for Team Guernsey as the men’s mountain bike cross-country team were belated awarded a bronze medal for their efforts the previous afternoon.
Guernsey finished third in the medals table with 20 golds, 19 silvers and 20 bronzes.
Read more from the Island Games in this weekend’s Press.
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