Jon Beard Delighted With Bermuda’s Athletes
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Jon Beard, the Bermuda Island Games Association chairman, has hailed the medal-winning displays of Bermuda’s athletes at the NatWest International Island Games in Guernsey, the Channel Islands, last week.
Bermuda, who travelled with more than 70 athletes, claimed ten medals in archery, football, golf, indoor bowls, sailing and tennis. They finished thirteenth in the medal table.
Beard, however, believes winning medals is not the only barometer for measuring the success of Bermuda’s athletes in Guernsey.
“You don’t come into this thinking just about winning medals,” Beard told Bernews.
“You want the athletes to enjoy themselves and find a level of competition where they can excel.
“It’s great for our athletes to represent Bermuda at a multi-sport event. It’s one week of flat-out sport and fantastic for everybody.
“Everyone was so pleased with each other’s success, and where possible, the athletes came to watch and support each other.”
Bermuda finished the biennial event on a high note, with their women’s athletes shining on the final day of the competition.
The women’s football team claimed gold after beating the Western Isles 4-0 in the final, Ebonie Cox won gold in the women’s individual golf event, and the women’s golf team took silver in the team event.
“Having Bermuda’s football teams back in the Games [after a ten-year absence] was great,” Beard added.
“It can be tough to pick up a medal up at the Games. Look at golf, where there are four days of competition, or football, where the women’s team had to play five games in six days to win gold.
“Naquita Robinson was the only female coach in the competition and did a fantastic job with the women’s team.
“It was fitting for the women’s athletes to come through and do the job for us on the final day.”
Medal winners
Gold [2]
Football: the Bermuda women’s team
Golf: Ebonie Cox in the individual women’s event
Silver [2]
Archery: Bernard Wade III in the single WA 1440 men’s recurve final
Golf: the Bermuda women’s team [Ebonie Cox, Kimberly Botelho, Tracy Burgess and Ann Symonds]
Bronze [6]
Archery: Bernard Wade III in the men’s recurve head-to-head knockout
Indoor bowls: David Leach in the open singles
Sailing: Nicole Stovell in the ILCA 6 class
Tennis: Shelby Madeiros in the women’s singles, Gavin Manders and James Finnigan in the men’s doubles, and the Bermuda men’s team [Manders, Finnigan, David Thomas and Scott Redmond]
