A trio of podium places in the swimming pool catapulted Cayman onto the medal table after the first two days of the 2023 Island Games in Guernsey.
On 10 July, the second evening of overall competition and the first day of racing in the Beau Sejour Leisure Centre’s pool, Will Sellars’ new personal best of 16:11.60 in the men’s 1500m freestyle was good for a bronze medal to get Cayman’s tally at these Games up and running.
Sellars had a busy first day of racing, also improving on his entry times and grabbing fourth-placed finishes in both the men’s 50m backstroke and 200m individual medley finals before taking fifth in the men’s 4x50m medley relay alongside Aidan Van Der Touw, Jake Bailey and Thomas Ferguson.
A second bronze medal soon followed, courtesy of Alison Jackson’s 2:05.46 in the women’s 200m freestyle final. Later in the session, Jackson returned to the podium – this time joined by her sister, Sarah, as well as Veronika Fankina and Kyra Rabess – to claim a silver medal in the women’s 4x50m freestyle relay.
“To share that [relay medal] with those three was the best,” Jackson said. “We swam slightly faster than prelims which was good, and we ended the finals session with a bang and brought home the silver for team Cayman.”
The swimming events continue 11 July, with results and live video available via the Games official website.
Women’s basketball win big in first game
Cayman’s women’s basketball team started off their 2023 Island Games campaign with a resounding 80-34 win over Jersey on 9 July. According to the Cayman Islands Basketball Association, Lyandrea Watson led the team in scoring with a 20-point game.
Speaking to the Compass after that game, assistant coach Cory McGee praised the team’s intensity as well as the scoring and playmaking performance of point guard and MVP winner Hannah Parchment.
“Every person on our team was able to contribute to the game in some way, shape or form,” McGee said, adding that the team is playing not for individual statistics, but for gold medals.
In their second game, on July 10, Cayman’s women suffered an 87-54 loss to Menorca, leaving the team’s position in the playoffs to be determined by other countries’ remaining group stage games on 11 July.
Meanwhile, Cayman’s two-time defending champion men’s basketball team will look to rebound from a narrow 78-74 opening match loss to Menorca when they return to the court to take on the Falkland Islands on 11 July.
Elsewhere in Guernsey
Keep track of Cayman’s teams and athletes across nine sports in Guernsey via the Cayman Islands on the Games official website and read below for a recap of the rest of the sports so far.
Athletics: Clearing a height of 1.85m, Josh Gardener secured fifth place in the final of the men’s high jump on 9 July. Next up for Cayman’s track and field contingent is Ashantae Graham in the women’s long jump on 12 July, before Esmond Brown takes on the men’s half marathon on 14 July, the final day of the Games.
Badminton: Cayman’s players finished 15th overall in the badminton team event, suffering losses to Jersey, Greenland, Gotland and Bermuda in their opening matches before bouncing back in a 3-1 victory over the Western Isles on 10 July. Badminton continues 11 July with the prelims of the men’s and women’s singles and doubles events.
Cycling: Victor Magalhaes and Jerome Ameline placed 30th and 41st, respectively, in the men’s individual time trial final on 10 July. Both cyclists are back on their bikes 12 July for the individual road race event.
Table tennis: Cayman’s table tennis team finished the group stage of the team event at a 3-3 record, with wins over the Falkland Islands, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar mixed with losses to Guernsey, Greenland and the Isle of Wight. Next on the schedule is a match-up with Åland on 11 July .
Tennis: Tennis players Abigail Anderson, Ffion Fletcher, Callum Theaker, Berno Devillers and Ricardo Solon all won their first singles matches on 10 July. A day prior, Cayman were beaten in the quarterfinals of both the men’s and women’s team events. Tennis resumes with both singles and doubles on 11 July.
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