News Release - Sunday 10 July 2005
SHETLAND WINS ITS FIRST GOLD MEDAL OF THE NATWEST ISLAND GAMES THE NATWEST ISLAND GAMES XI
There was a promising start for the host island in the first day of competition of the NatWest Island Games XI 2005 in Shetland.
In the women's javelin sixteen year old Emma Gray won the first gold medal for Shetland, throwing a distance of 42.42 metres, smashing her personal best and setting a new Shetland Senior record. Helen Davies of the Isle of Wight took the silver with a throw of 40.01 metres with Gemma Tingay of Guernsey winning the bronze medal.
Emma Gray said: 'It is brilliant to throw over 42 metres in my first Games and to win the first gold for Shetland. I feel really happy to be part of such a great competition and it is a great honour to compete for Shetland.'
Carlos Riise, Shetland's leading cyclist, narrowly missed out on a gold medal in the men's 25.6 mile time trial event with a time of 56:10.4, only
1.02 seconds behind top seed Andrew Roach from the Isle of Man and more than 20 seconds ahead Sam Firby, from Jersey, who took the bronze.
Gary Hides, Andrew Roach's coach, said: 'I am chuffed to bits for Andrew.
This is something he has been working towards since 1997. The Isle of Man also had four riders in the first eight in the team time trial and took gold so it has been a great day for the team!'
In a close fought competition in the ISSF Universal Trench Team event, Barry Martin and David Walton from the Isle of Man took gold with a final total of
169 with Nicholas Dewe and Stefan Roberts of Sark taking the silver and Peter Davies and Jim Work, from Shetland, picking up a bronze.
Peter Davies shot the highest total of the day with a score of 91, 4 points clear of the Barry Martin's total. However the Shetland team ran into a few problems that cost them the gold and silver.
Jim Work said: 'In my first round the fog came down to the point when I was struggling to see the targets. I shot my worst round since the new shooting ground was opened earlier in the year, hitting only 16 out of 26 targets. I struggled to recover but managed to shoot well in the later rounds. Then in Peter's last round, with only six targets shot, the firing pin in the main barrel broke and he had to borrow my gun, which obviously doesn't fit him.
He did very well under the circumstances and finished with an excellent 22.
'We are disappointed not to have done better but it is great to get a medal and I am very happy to be taking part in such a fantastic competition.'
In another close competition, Orkney's Derek Firth and Victor Smith took bronze in the English Sporting Men's Team event finishing with a total of 147, just behind Ynys Mon who won gold with a total of 150. The Isle of Wight took silver shooting 149 targets.
In the first day of the table tennis team competition, Shetland are guaranteed at least a bronze medal, with one match to play against Gotland tomorrow to decide the play offs. They beat top seeds the Isle of Wight 6
1 in the opening round with equally convincing wins against Rhodes and the isle of Man in the next two rounds. They now look forward to a keen day of competition tomorrow to decide the colour of their medal.
'The Sports Co-ordinator for Table Tennis, Archie Constable, said: 'This is the first medal for the Shetland Table Tennis team in the history of the Games. The team are in shock and looking forward to tomorrow's competition.
12 year old Linda Flaws, the youngest competitor in the Shetland team, played brilliantly in her game.
Chris Graham, the team's coach has been working tirelessly with Shetland's table tennis players for the last 20 years and it is particularly fantastic
moment for him.'
The first day of the swimming competition, traditionally one of the most popular sports within the Games, gets under way tomorrow. The event will be officially opened by Alison Sheppard, Scotland's record breaking swimmer Alison Sheppard - Commonwealth gold medallist and five-time Olympian at the morning's opening ceremony.
Ends
Editor's Notes:
The NatWest Island Games XI, Shetland 2005, 9 - 15 July. Shetland is the first Scottish member island to host the games; and with a population of approximately 23,000 it is the smallest island population ever to host this large-scale event.
NatWest Island Games XI, Shetland 2005: http://www.shetland2005.info/ NatWest Island Games XI, Shetland 2005, event results website http//www.shetlandresults2005.com NatWest Island Games and the IGA: http://www.Islandgames.net/
The 24 member islands of the International Island Games Association are:
Aland, Alderney, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Froya, Gibraltar, Gotland, Greenland, Guernsey, Hitra, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Jersey, Orkney, Prince Edward Island, Rhodes, Saaremaa, Sark, Shetland, St. Helena, Western Isles, Ynys Mon.
Sports for the NatWest Island Games XI, Shetland 2005: 15 different team and individual sports have been chosen from a list of 18 set down by the IGA:
Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Bowls, Cycling, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Sailboarding, Sailing, Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis and Volleyball.
Shetland
The Shetland Islands are situated 200 miles North of Aberdeen and 225 miles West of Bergen. Made up of a diverse group of over 100 islands, bordered by jagged cliffs and bleached white beaches, Shetland is ruled by water. The mainland of Shetland is approximately 70 miles in length and 35 miles wide, with a population of around 23,000. http://www.visitshetland.com
Funding Partners
Shetland Islands Council, Shetland Charitable Trust, EventScotland and sportscotland
Sponsors and Supporters
NatWest is the official sponsor to the IGA and the NatWest Island Games. The NatWest Island Games XI, Shetland 2005, is the fourth Games that NatWest has sponsored.
A large number of Shetland businesses are also supporting the games.
http://www.shetland2005.info/
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