Day 2 of DN Galan Youth – 3 diamonds and a Faroese record!

Machine-translated from Faroese and not yet reviewed. Read the original.

So the second day of competition at DN Galan Youth is over, and most of today’s results were very good, with some outstanding. But first, an explanation of the headline about diamonds. At the big international DN Galan meet, a diamond is awarded to any athlete who manages to set a stadium record at the Olympic Stadium. So instead of ordinary medals, the organisers of DN Galan Youth chose to award some handsome “glass diamonds” to the top three and medals to places four to six.

One of our very biggest trump cards was played straight away today. It was Rúni Seloy, who was out to defend his 2nd place from last year. Last year’s winner was back again this year, so it was not going to be easy. He set off hard, and only Rúni was able to go with him. After 500 metres Rúni lost a little ground and then had to run on his own for 2nd place. With 100 metres to go, two runners began to threaten Rúni, but he kicked again and held 2nd place to the finish. Earlier this summer Rúni won the strong 800 m race at the Tårnby Games and set a personal best of 2:08.38. This time he improved it slightly, so it now stands at 2:07.97. That is a top time in the Nordic countries, and it is worth mentioning that no boy of the same age in Denmark has run that fast!

For today’s 800 metres, Jan Elmar had planned to make up for yesterday’s rather disappointing 1500 metres. Earlier this summer Jan Elmar ran the 800 m in 2:09.46, and the aim was to run somewhat faster today. His training in recent weeks had also suggested that a good time was on the cards. But the best-laid plans often go astray, and Jan Elmar simply had to accept that his legs were not doing what he wanted these days. He crossed the line in 2:10.38.

Then it was the girls’ turn to run 1500 metres. First Rebekka (girls 15). She was aiming for 3rd place, and also to break 5 minutes for the first time. The first goal was achieved in full. But the pace was so fast early on that it took its toll on her final time, which was 5:11.17. That was one second slower than Rebekka ran as a 13-year-old, but what mattered most today was the diamond, which joined the one she won for 3rd place in the 800 metres yesterday.

Then came Rannvá (girls 16). Her goal was to reach a time of 5:15. Although Rannvá was at the back, it looked all the way as though she would reach her target. But over the last 100 metres her legs became too heavy, and Rannvá lost precious time. It was still a personal best, with a time of 5:17.82.

The next big trump card was now played. It was Bjørk Herup Olsen, who was competing in the girls 17 category. This was a strong field, including all three girls who had beaten her in the 800 metres. But Bjørk is stronger over 1500 metres, so hopes were high. The pace was even and fast from the start, and Bjørk kept herself towards the back of the field. Whenever the pace slackened a little, she worked her way one place further forward. She carried on like this all the way up to second place. Over the last 50 metres she tried to clear the final hurdle, but the Swedish girl was just too strong and managed to keep Bjørk a shade under half a second behind. But Bjørk had improved her own Faroese record by more than three seconds, so with good reason it was a proud and happy Bjørk who received the diamond for her 2nd place and for her new Faroese record, which now stands at 4:44.83. For fun, it is worth mentioning that only three women in Denmark have run that fast this year!

The grand finale for the Faroese at DN Galan Youth this time was Regin Joensen’s 2000 metres. He was entered with a time of 6:58, but it was rather doubtful whether he would manage it. We knew beforehand that the field was very strong and that a diamond was unlikely. But Regin is both stubborn and tough. So what at first looked like a tough start ended up as an unexpectedly good result. A fine personal best (also passing 1500 m in 5:07) and 8th place in 6:49.11 – just one second from the medal-winning 6th place.

All in all a successful competition, in which our athletes set 8 personal bests, 5 age-group records and 2 new Faroese records across 12 races. We will now take it easy for two days and turn up ready to race at the Ólavsøka Run, provided air traffic is back to normal 😉