MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands 16th in medals table at Islands Games.
The Falklands total of three medals a silver and two bronze, left them in 16th place in the medal table, as the 10th NatWest Island Games closed in the Channel Island of Guernsey.
Their main 'scalp' was that of the larger Orkney Islands (pop. 18,000), which took a solitary bronze medal to finish in 18th position. Little Sark, with a population of just 530 inhabitants, took home two silver medals, both in clay pigeon shooting, and proudly obtained 17th place in the final table.
In addition to the silver and two bronze medals, the Falklands also won a Gold Certificate, awarded to clay pigeon shooter Saul Pitaluga, who scored 101 in the ISSF Automatic Ball Trap Individual event. The 'Small Islands Certificates' involve the six Island Games Association member Islands that have populations of 10,000 or less. These are the two Channel Islands of Alderney and Sark, the Norwegian Islands of Froya and Hitra, and the South Atlantic Islands of St. Helena and the Falklands. Provided three or more of the six Islands enter a particular event, certificates are awarded related to the finishing positions of the competitors.
Graham Didlick, who emigrated with his family to the Falklands from Britain 14 years ago, established himself as the top medal winner over the six Island Games meetings which the Falklands has attended. His silver and bronze medals, won in Pistol events in Guernsey, brought his personal tally to eleven. This is made up of one gold, four silver and six bronze.
Golfer Glenn Ross just missed out on a Silver Certificate on the final day of competition. Despite breaking the Falklands four round golf total by 27 points after a score of 322, he was edged out of the silver by David Whatmore of Alderney who finished on 321. He also twice broke the Falklands 18 hole record, firstly with a 77 and then a 76. Roy Smith similarly scored 76 to become joint record holder. Kevin Clapp also lowered the previous four round score with his total of 339 - 10 strokes better than the old record of 349.
On the final day of competition, Sarah Allan took almost 6 minutes of her previous best Island Games time in the Ladies Half Marathon. She finished 11th with a time of 1:37:16. This battling performance earned her the Chairman's 'Performance of Merit' medal. David Fyfe was placed 26th in the Mens Half Marathon, recording a time of 1:34:03.
The 2005 Island Games will be held on the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland. Unfortunately for the Falklands neither of their medal winning events - full-bore rifle and pistol shooting - will be included in the proposed Shetland schedule. The Scottish Island does not have a full-bore range, while the importation of pistols is banned by police authorities.
Members of the Island Games Association voted in favour of the Greek Island of Rhodes, over the Isle of Wight, to host the 2007 Games. The Greeks did themselves few favours with their behavior in a soccer match just hours after they had been awarded the Games. Five players, the Team Manager and several officials were sent-off during a game against Guernsey. Referee Wendy Thoms abandoned the game which was later awarded to Guernsey who were leading 2-1 at the time. All dismissed players and officials have been banned from further participation in the Island Games.
By Patrick Watts ? Guernsey Is.
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