Bermuda win two gold, five medals in track (Update)

Bermuda picked up five medals in athletics at the National Sports Centre on Monday night. Earlier in the day the team won two high jump medals, giving them seven in athletics so far. 

Tre Houston pumped up the home crowd by setting an Island Games record in the men’s 100 metres when he blazed home in 10.34 seconds. Houston broke his own mark, which he had set earlier in the morning when he qualified for the final in 10.58.

Houston dominated both the heats and the final Cayman’s Rhymiech Adolphus was second in 10,63 with Mats Boman of Aland winning the bronze in 10.83.

Houston said: “I got to win in front of my country and there’s nothing better than that.”

He added to set a new PB had him: “Over the moon. All the hard work is paying off. It felt good in my transition phase coming up, stepping over and coming through. I knew it was a quick time, I just didn’t know how fast.”

His previous PB was 10.40.

Just prior to Houston’s gold Natsaha Trott won silver in the women’s 100m  in 12.39 seconds, just 0.11 behind the Cayman Island’s Ameilia Gillispie. Sophie Lewis-Canyers of Ynys Mon was third in 12.71.

Trott said winning silver was “exciting since it is my first Games. All I was thinking when I was running was PAC - positive, attitude and confidence.”

Shiane Smith won gold and also set a new personal record in the javelin.

Smith said the PR meant more than the gold.

“It started out a little shaky and I finally got it on the fifth throw.”

Kerri Furbert won silver in the women’s long jump behind Olympian Kaie Kand from Saaremaa.

Furbert, who competes for the University of Missouri, said: “It feels really good. It was pretty close to my personal record.”

She leapt 5.57 metres and her PB is 5.76.

Ashley Estwanik won bronze in the 10,000 metres. Estwanik was with the main pack of four before dropping back. She then reeled them in only to fall about a quarter of the track behind the fourth place runner. Estwanik kept the same pace and eventually caught and passed a struggling Sarah Livett of Ynys Mon. Estwanik’s time was 38:47.61.

Valborg Heinsen of Faroe won in a comfortable 38:01.20 with Gail Griffiths of Isle of Man in second in 38:14.62.

Livett collapsed at the finish line and was taken to King Edward Memorial VII Hospital by ambulance.

Estwanik said the pace felt “really slow for me because when I work out at the track, I work out a lot faster than that. I started out feeling really, really comfortable but I’m not very experienced running the 10,000 at the track. I tried to rein them in but obviously a couple of the girls have more experience than me and knew what they were doing.”

She added: “I found it very exciting. I got dropped and was in fourth or fifth and I came back. It was just awesome to hear the crowd go crazy. Every time I go around I heard people yell ‘Go Ash. Go Ashley.’

“It ended up panning out really well for me as I got bronze and I’m really happy with that.”