Filip Nowacki, the junior European record holder from Jersey, achieved a double feat by surpassing the Island Games record twice, securing gold in the 100m breaststroke event.
The 17-year-old’s performance during the heats, clocking in at 58.73, eclipsed the previous Island Games record by more than 1.5 seconds, a benchmark set by fellow Jersey athlete Ian Black in 2015.
Nowacki, having previously achieved a long course personal best of 59.59 while competing with Great Britain, further improved his Island Games record, completing the final in the short course pool at Kirkwall with a time of 58.10, thus shaving over two seconds off the existing record.
His teammate, Matthew Deffains, secured a sixth-place finish in the same final.
This triumph was preceded by another success for Jersey, as Sam Sterry clinched the silver medal in the 1,500m freestyle event.
Sterry finished second, approximately 11 seconds behind Liggjas Joensen from the Faroe Islands.
Earlier in the month, Nowacki showcased his prowess at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Slovakia, where he claimed two gold medals and one silver medal.
Jersey’s cyclists secure silver medal
The initial medal achievement for Jersey on this particular day came from the cycling team in the men’s team time trial event.
The team, consisting of Ollie Cadin, Tom Huelin, Samuel Nisbet, and Jack Rebours, secured second place, trailing behind the Isle of Man, while Gibraltar claimed the bronze medal.
Huelin emerged as Jersey’s top cyclist, finishing fourth in the individual event, a mere 45 seconds behind Philip Touzeau from Guernsey, who secured the bronze medal.
Rebours finished one position and seven seconds behind Huelin, while Nisbet secured eighth place, and Cadin finished in 13th position.
