How to warm up the Greenland way: Enter to contemporary club music and proceed to dance in pairs in a variety of styles. Salsa and hip hop are particularly recommended. Proceed with other members of your team to lie face down in a close packed line on the floor. The person at one end then rolls across the back of everyone until they get to the other end and then the next one goes. You never know – it might work. They lost to Saaremaa in the volleyball though.
Back on track, this was the morning of semi finals. Josh qualified in stunning form (1st, PB). It was Mike B’s turn for a nervous wait, but he qualified too. Will Bodkin was in the harder run of the two races and despite running within half a second of his PB could not progress. With no heats, both Dale and Leo advanced from their semis to the final of the 400m hurdles.
After the afternoon siesta, action resumed in the evening session, starting with more semis - Kylie qualified with consummate ease (1st), Teresa qualified. And then began the finals. Josh Allaway finished a fine fourth, never an easy position, but acquitting himself exceptionally well at his first Games. Anything he could do, Teresa could do as well and Kylie went one (3?) better – Gold, PB, Games record.
There followed a return to distance racing. Sarah Mercier was involved in a very tactical 1500m final. Very tactical. In fact the most tactical. Which perhaps didn't suit her racing style, but we know she'll be back in the 800m.
Keith Gerrard (debuted in Gsy 2003 for IOM) put on a 5000m masterclass from lap one (66sec). Couldn’t manage to hold on for Mighty Mezza’s record though. Ronan ran the perfect tactical race for 3rd until some crafty islander from the Faroes shot past him as though from a rocket in the last 250m.
Meanwhile our first field event was under way – Karen in the Jav. Though within in range of her PB, she place 6th in a good quality field.
The last event of the night was the heats of the women’s 400. Sadie ran a solid race but was unfortunate not to qualify, Emma Le Conte ran brilliantly in a fast race to secure the first of the fastest losers’ places with 60.00.
On a more parochial note, we are engaged in a running battle with our cyclist neighbours in the caravan park as to who can contribute most to the medal. As we speak they seem to be edging us slightly (3 crit. medals; 1,2,3 in the mountain biking men, 1 for women… Respect!) but we are confident of regaining the lead in no time. We are also engaged in an inter-sport cook-off with football (we rock) and an intra-sport cook-off between Alun Williams’ breakfast and the girls’ pasta and chocolate crispie combo….
And lastly, answers on a postcard:
At 11:27 am ‘What time is it? 11? The bar must be open…’
But who said it?
Ahh - that I'll be Mezza then ;-)
ReplyDelete(only joking - he probably hasn't found the bar !)