Raking in a combined medal haul that stretched into double digits, Igor Magalhaes and Karthik Adapa led the way as the Cayman Islands’ first-ever men’s gymnastics team placed third at the 2023 Inter Island Games, held 4-8 July in Åland.
With gymnastics dropped from the line-up of sports scheduled at this year’s Island Games in Guernsey, Cayman’s best gymnasts instead turned to Åland, a self-governing cluster of islands off the coast of Finland, for the alternative competition against several countries from the International Island Games Association.
“This was the first time we have ever had a men’s gymnastics team at an international competition,” said coach Kyle Perry. “The boys did extremely well, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Alongside Magalhaes and Adapa, 15-year-olds Justin Spencer and Alex Hare represented Cayman in the men’s gymnastics events in Åland, surpassing the number of athletes (three) required to be recognised as a team.
“It has always just been me and Igor,” said Adapa. “[It was] a really nice change of pace, and also really rewarding to see [Hare and Spencer] reach this level of competition for the first time.”
“It feels good to see the sport growing and to see younger boys stepping up for competition,” Magalhaes added.
Also competing was Cayman’s women’s team, consisting of Sienna Santiago, Bethany Hawkins, Natalie Bodden and Naomi Tibbetts. According to the Cayman Islands Gymnastics Association, women’s team members Georgina Hayman and Sophia Simpson missed out due to injury.
Medals galore for dynamic duo
Perry said that both Magalhaes (stomach bug) and Adapa (injured back) fought through adversity during the Games to turn in performances that earned themselves, and their nation, an impressive cache of medals.
After experiencing back issues in the lead-up to the Games, Adapa feared that he might have to withdraw from the competition when his injury worsened during the first day of training in Åland.
“I thought I was out of the competition because it hurt to stand, let alone walk,” Adapa said. But after consulting doctors and taking medication, the 18-year-old was able to push on and compete.
“Their grit and determination to continue through sickness and injury was admirable,” Perry said, extending special thanks to Dr. Melissa Mascaro for her help in managing Adapa’s back injury. “I’m glad it was rewarded with the medals that they received.”
During the senior men’s artistic gymnastics (MAG) ‘set’ events on 5 July, when all gymnasts had to complete the same compulsory routines, Magalhaes, 20, grabbed his first gold of the Games on the high bar. With silver medals on the floor, still rings and parallel bars, he went on to secure third place in the all-around set results. Adapa, 18, also reached the podium in the parallel bars, taking the bronze medal.
In the all-around MAG competition on 7 July, where gymnasts complete their own routines of the highest possible difficulty, Magalhaes then took second place overall, just ahead of Adapa in third.
Both gymnasts finished in the top three in multiple of the six contested disciplines – floor, pommel, still rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar – with Magalhaes again grabbing top spot on the high bar as well as the vault.
Having qualified for the finals of those same events on 8 July, Magalhaes claimed another two gold (floor and vault) and two silver (pommel and still rings) medals while Adapa earned two silver medals on the parallel and high bars to go with a bronze on the still rings, capping off an impressive competition for both athletes.
Magalhaes is set to return to school and training at Loughborough University in England, while Adapa plans to attend Pennsylvania State University in the fall, where he will study architectural engineering and continue his gymnastics career through the university’s walk-on programme. Perry added that Spencer and Hare will continue to train on island with him to prepare for the next competition year, with the hope of continuing to represent the Cayman Islands at future international events.
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