Cayman takes two golds in squash at Island Games
(CNS Local Life): Individual gold medals in squash Tuesday (9 July), day four of the 2019 NatWest International Island Games in Gibraltar, brought Cayman’s gold total to three, with a second silver and bronze added as well. To date, Cayman’s athletes have notched seven medals overall. Cameron Stafford and Marlene West each earned the top spots after impressive straight-set wins in their gold-medal squash matches.
Raya Embury-Brown took her first medal of the games, swimming to a silver in the 1,500m freestyle in a time of 17:26.26, comfortably ahead of the third-place finisher.
Michael Smikle earned bronze on the track in the 800m, clocking 1:55.71 in a photo finish with an Isle of Man athlete, who was eventually awarded the silver.
In squash doubles, second seed Jake Kelly and Julian Dervis, third seed Jade Pitcairn and Eilidh Bridgeman, and mixed doubles team of top-seeded West and Stafford have all earned byes in the round of 16.
Back on the track, in the women’s 4x100m relay, the Cayman team was the second-fastest qualifier out of the heats to book a spot in the finals, set for Friday, 12 July. Cayman holds the Island Games record in the event, set in 1999 with a time of 47.60.
The men have also qualified for the 4x100m finals, coming in with the third-fastest time in the heats, with their medals race following the women on Friday.
The men’s basketball team continues to blow through the competition, demolishing Aland 154-15 on Tuesday, finishing first in its group with three wins and no losses, As top seed in tournament, Cayman will take on eighth-seeded Gotland in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
On the women’s side, Cayman netted its first win at the games, beating Jersey 59-25, for a 1-2 record out of the group stage. Cayman will play Guernsey Thursday to decide sixth and seventh place in the tournament.
In beach volleyball, on Tuesday Richard Campbell and Nathan Dack rebounded from a Monday loss to Gotland, after previously beating Bermuda, to take their third match 21-12, 22-20 against Jersey, followed by a win against Menorca 21-17, 21-10, sending them through to the semifinals, set for Thursday.
Both women’s beach volleyball teams are also headed to the semifinals. Marissa Harrison and Ileann Powery won all three of their matches to top their group, and Jessica Wolfenden and Stefania Gandolfi tied for first with Gotland in their group, keeping medals chances alive for both Cayman squads.
Cayman’s sailors both dropped a spot in their individual standings after the third day, with only one of the scheduled two daily races run due to the wind conditions. In the laser radial rig, Robert Jackson now sits in sixth place and Will Jackson is in 11th. In the team event, they remain in eighth position out of 14.
The Island Games continue through Friday, 12 July.
Category: Sports
