Sport / Island Games round-up: Silver success for Shetland on busy day of action
SHETLAND sealed their first medal of the 2025 Island Games after the women’s triathlon team surged across the line in the Stromness sun on Sunday.
The team of Lynsey Henderson, Louise Parr, Emma Leask and Wendy Hatrick had been hopeful of continuing a strong recent record in the event, and did so in a combined time of 4 hours and 57 minutes to narrowly see off Orkney.
Parr also just missed out on a podium place, finishing fourth in the women’s individual race in a time of 2 hours and 26 minutes.
Henderson was not far behind her, finishing the race in sixth place.
That came after a gruelling triathlon race in Stromness for both the men and women, with sea temperatures reaching 17 degrees before the swimmers took to the water.
The searing heat only added to the challenge for all involved, but that didn’t stop Shetland’s athletes from punching above their weight once more.
James Irvine finished the men’s race in sixth place in a time of 2 hours and 7 minutes, with team-mate Andy Aitken 10 minutes behind him.
The men’s team also included Andrew Grant, Lewis Anderson, first-timer Cameron Read and Scott Riise.
Their combined time of 6 hours and 43 minutes was just three minutes shy of earning them a bronze medal in the team event.
ABBIE Taylor narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in the women’s triple jump, finishing with a top score of 11.46m – with third-placed Victoria Hancock just pipping her on 11.47m.
Keira Blance finished eighth in the event with a score of 9.36m.
Bobby Laurenson is through to Monday’s men’s 400m semi-finals after winning his heat in a time of 50.24s.
Both Katie Dinwoodie and Sophie Grant are into the semi-finals of the women’s 100m race, with each winning their respective heats on Sunday.
Grant crossed the line in 12.58s, and Dinwoodie in a time of 12.06s.
In the men’s 100m event, Kian Redman and Jack Baronet will compete in the same semi-final on Monday after coming through their heats.
Katie Clubb just missed out on a bronze medal in the 10,000m race, finishing fourth after a strong performance on Sunday evening.
Michelle Sandison also finished in sixth place in a race which was most notable for the performance of winner Christa Cain, who broke the Island Games record by finishing in a time of 35 minutes and 16 seconds.
SHETLAND’S two football teams experienced similar outcomes on Sunday afternoon, but may have felt differently about their results.
The women’s team capped their return to the competition for the first time in 20 years by earning a hugely creditable 2-2 draw with the Isle of Wight in Kirkwall.
The blues trailed early on, but captain Rhea Nicolson dragged them back level on the stroke of half-time before a superb Freya Leslie free-kick put Shetland in front.
Isle of Wight quickly levelled, with Leslie going close to winning the game for Shetland by hitting the crossbar in added time.
The game went to penalties – which will be used to decide group positions if teams are level on points, goal difference and fair play – with Isle of Wight triumphing 4-3.
The men’s team then faced Gozo at 3.30pm, looking to get their campaign off to a winning start before their second fixture against Jersey on Tuesday evening.
However they found Gozo to be a stuffy and determined opponent in the sizzling heat, with Gozo twice going close to opening the scoring before half-time.
Shetland were not without their chances too, James Aitken going closest with a volley that was straight down the keeper’s throat.
In the second half Gozo tired and began to run the clock down in their search for a point, with winger Calvin Leask tormenting the opposition defence.
Again Aitken had an effort saved, before Finn Regan almost snatched the victory after winding his way through the defence and hitting the post.
The game ended 0-0 and went to penalties, where again Shetland were on the wrong end of a 4-3 defeat.
Next up for the women’s team is a clash with Jersey at 3.30pm on Monday, while the men have to wait until Tuesday to face the same opponents.
SHETLAND have made a superb start to their badminton team event, winning their first two fixtures 5-0 against Froya and 4-1 against Gibraltar.
The blues are currently in action, as of 7.15pm, against Menorca – with both teams winning their opening two games.
The winner of the match will go through to the semi-finals of the competition tomorrow.
BOWLER Andy Walterson opened his games campaign with two wins from two on Sunday in the men’s lawn bowls round robin competition.
Walterson beat Terry Condie of the Western Isles 2-0 and Orkney’s Neil Anderson 2-1 to make a bright start to the group stage, with four games still to play.
In the women’s event there was a win and a defeat for Anne Robertson, beating the Falkland Islands Daphne Arthur-Almond 2-0 before a 2-1 defeat to Rosemary Ogier of Guernsey.
The men’s pairs team of Alexander Elphinstone and Gilbert Pottinger opened their tournament with a 14-12 win on Sunday, with Anne Barron and Caroline Smith starting with one win and one loss in the women’s pairs competition.
IN THE squash, Lindsey Sim narrowly fell 3-2 to the Isle of Man’s Beth Jones in the round of 16 – with the deciding set being won 13-11 by Jones.
Stephen Leask was beaten 3-0 by Jersey’s Antony Harkin in the round of 32 of the men’s singles, with Ramsay Hogg winning his round of 32 tie 3-1 against Bermuda’s Neil Pohlman before falling 3-0 in the last 16.
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