The Manx Swim Team can be justly proud of a magnificent week’s work in Aland, having returned from the 2009 Island Games with an impressive haul of medals.
In addition to the 7 gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals, won by Grant Halsall, Olivia Rawlinson and Heather Miller, they achieved 30 other finals swims; 1 British junior record; 5 Island Games records; over 20 Manx records; and 8 consideration times for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi!
Grant Halsall
15 year old Grant Halsall was competing in all three backstroke events and the 50m and 100m butterfly. Day 1 saw an incredible swim in the 50m backstroke that netted him a Gold medal, a British Junior Record, and Island Games Record and Manx Senior and Junior Records, with a time of 25.87 sec.
He also took Gold in the 100m backstroke in 55.39, just 3/100 of a second outside of the British Junior Record for two more Manx Records, and the 200m backstroke in 2 min 00.91. He was just pipped at the post in the butterfly events, coming away with two silver medals, once again just outside the British junior age group Records.
His 25.70 for the shorter event was a new Manx junior record, and his 55.81 took over a second off the senior and junior Manx figures. Swimming lead off leg in the mens 4 x 50m freestyle it was record time again, with 24.75 for a Manx junior record.
What makes his swims even more impressive is that he has been selected to swim for Great Britain in the European Youth Olympics, currently taking place in Finland, and was required to keep up his heavy training schedule during the Games.
So, in between the heats in the mornings and finals in the evenings, he was completing a tough two hour training session!
Olivia Rawlinson
Competing in her third NatWest Island Games, Rawlinson finally made it to the top of the podium, and enjoyed it so much she repeated the experience three more times over the four day period!
She started off her gold rush in the 200m freestyle in a time of 2 min 05.44, then moved on to the 100 backstroke the following evening with 1 min 04.97. On the third day, she achieved her most impressive swim of the meet when she knocked almost 3 seconds off her own Manx senior record to win the 200m backstroke in 2 min 15.30.
The last day of competition saw her competing in the most gruelling of all swimming events - the 200m butterfly - where she came from behind over the last 50m to take victory in 2 min 20.89.
Rawlinson also took two individual silver medals, in the 200m and 400m individual medley, the former in another Manx Senior Record of 2 min 22.36. Her tally of NatWest Island Games medals is now well over twenty, from three games.
Heather Miller
Heather Miller was the fastest qualifier for the 100m freestyle final in 59.71, but despite going even quicker in the final with 58.97, just outside her own Manx record, she had to settle for the silver medal. Miller also made the finals in all four of the other events she competed in, finishing 4th in the 200m freestyle, 5th in the 50m butterfly, and 7th in the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly.
Jonathan Price
Jonathan Price was another record breaker, knocking 2 seconds of the 21 year old Senior Manx Record in the 200m breaststroke to finish 5th in 2 min 24.23. The record had been held by former Commonwealth swimmer, Shane Stigant, since 1988, the year that Price was born.
He also reduced his own Senior 400m individual medley record, again finishing 5th in 4 min 38.59, in addition to finishing 5th in the 100m and 200m individual medley and 6th in the 100m breaststroke.
Tom Bielich
The remaining two individual Manx Records were both set by Tom Bielich. Competing in the very first event, the 1500m, he got the Manx team of to a flying start to finish 5th in 16 min 29.80, taking over 8 seconds of the previous senior and junior records. Later in the week he twice lowered the junior 400m freestyle figures, with 4 min 09.68 for 6th place. In addition to his record breaking swim, Bielich had a busy week taking in the 200m and 400m individual medleys, and the 100m and 200m freestyle.
Distinction for First Time Competitors
Poppy Evans, Hannah Howitt, Katie Blaker and Philip Harrison, all aged 14 or 15, were at their first Games and all swam in finals for some events.
Breaststroke specialist Evans, finished 7th over 100m and 200m. Howitt was a magnificent 5th in the 800m freestyle, taking over eight seconds off her personal best, and 6th in the 400m freestyle, four seconds faster than ever before.
Blaker, an all-rounder, had a busy week with seven events, making it through to the finals in four of them.
She came 6th in the 200m backstroke, 7th in the 200m and 400m individual medleys, both in new best times, and 8th in the 200m breaststroke. Harrison finished 7th in the 100m freestyle, twice lowering his ‘PB’, and was unlucky not to make the finals in the 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle, finishing in 9th place on both occasions.
'Veteran' Harrop Makes Finals
Veteran of many Island and Commonwealth Games, 30 year old Dane Harrop, who was Mens Team Captain, contested all three butterfly events and the 100m backstroke, making it through to the finals in all four events, finishing with two 6th places, a 7th and an 8th.
Ladies Team Captain, Rachel Ganley, was just outside of the finals in her events, but produced best times in the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly.
Manx Shine in Relays
As expected, the Manx team made it through to the finals in all of the relay events, where their lowest place was 5th. The ladies set three new senior records, out of their four events, and took silver in the 4 x 100m freestyle, where they smashed the record by seven seconds to come tantalisingly close to the 4 minute mark with 4 min 00.34.
Meanwhile, the men came away with three bronzes and a senior island record in the 4 x 50m medley team.
National Coach, Sacha Djerfi, is rightly proud of the team’s performance at his first NatWest Island Games.
With seven of the eleven swimmers aged under 16, things are looking good for the Isle of Wight in 2011!
