Machine-translated from Faroese and not yet reviewed. Read the original.
If the first day in Reykjavík was good, the second was no less so! Once again on Sunday we struck gold, and had Bjørk and Jóan Karl run in the Stórmót IR today rather than in the strong Reykjavík International, the gold medals would no doubt have been even more numerous.
Rebekka Fuglø 400m
It started when Rebekka, at 400 metres, swept all opposition aside and, in a class of her own, ran to gold at 400 metres in a new record time of 61.65 sec. The women’s 400 m was a record that had been allowed to stand unusually long. At the Island Games in Åland in 1991, Margreth Augustinussen ran the 400 metres in 68.17 sec. That record stood right up until summer 2007 (16 years later), when both Rebekka and Vár Gregersen got well under it. So after the record had stood for 16 years, Rebekka has now improved it by a full seven seconds!
Regin Joensen 200m
There were a full 41 participants in the 200 metres race Regin took part in. Regin’s strength lies in somewhat longer distances, but 800 m was the longest event in his age group, so if he was to have two races, he had to run the 200 metres. Here he managed to finish second in his heat and 19th overall. But the margins were small, and on a good day Regin could probably have run a second faster and pushed his way into the top 10.
Rúni Seloy 400m
Rúni was running his first ever 400 m, and it was quite exciting to find out what he had in him over this distance. And he met his match straight away. An Icelander went out like a bolt of lightning and opened a small gap on Rúni. When they passed 200 m, the clock read approx. 25 sec, and Rúni had closed the gap again. With 100 m to go he went full throttle and passed the Icelander, who could not respond. A pure display, and a time better than the undersigned had dared to dream of. 54.38 seconds, and the lad isn’t even 15 yet!
Jan Elmar Sørensen 1.500m
There were only two participants in the men’s 1500 metres: Jan Elmar and an Icelander. The Treysti runner’s goal was to take 5–10 seconds off his personal best of 4:29 min, which he set in Gothenburg last year. At the same time he had to keep an eye on his opponent and claim the gold if the chance arose. Jan Elmar went straight to the front. The pace was right for the first two laps, and the Icelander was dropping back. This looked promising. But then the pace slackened. The planned lap times didn’t hold, and although he fought hard for a good result, it ended with a time slightly slower than planned, namely 4:33.85. But if Jan Elmar was disappointed with the time, he could at least be pleased with the gold medal he won – our third of the day.
The Stórmót IR was now over, and we went back to Ørkin to get a bite to eat. In the afternoon Bjørk, Rebekka and Jóan Karl were all to run 1500 m in the strong Reykjavík International, where only invited participants get to take part. This competition is for seniors only, so the entire Icelandic elite gathers here. We can therefore be rather proud that our youth runners got to take part in a competition like this, which also had a very strong guest field from England, Wales, Sweden, Norway and the USA.
Bjørk Herup Olsen og Rebekka Fuglø 1.500m
Even so, there were hopes that we could win medals. Bjørk had the second-best entry time of the six women who were to compete. Rebekka’s goal was to improve her personal best, which was previously 5:07 min. From the start Bjørk settled into 2nd place, some way behind the leader but with two right on her heels. Rebekka found her own pace and was soon running fairly alone in 5th place. But it quickly became clear that these ladies were stronger in reality than on paper. After 500 metres two went past Bjørk, who otherwise held her pace. There was not much to do but fight for a good time. And that went well. Bjørk finished fourth in a time of 4:44.62, which is her best time ever and also a new Faroese indoor record. Rebekka also achieved her goal. She finished 5th and set a new personal best of 5:05.71.
Jóan Karl Joensen 1.500m
Our last race this time was Jóan Karl’s 1500 m. This race included several heavyweight boys with outstanding entry times. Jóan Karl’s goal was to keep two Icelanders behind him and to improve his personal best. He could do nothing about the leaders, and there is nothing to be said about that. On the other hand, he managed to beat both of the Icelanders he had aimed to beat, and he also succeeded in setting a new personal best, which is now 4:16,
All in all, these days in Reykjavík brought us 7 gold medals and one silver medal. On top of that, three new Faroese indoor records were set. In addition, a full 11 new indoor age-group records and no fewer than 12 personal bests were set. There was a great deal of whispering in the corners among the Icelanders about the secret behind the Faroese winning streak, and it was clear that the good results earned respect for us Faroese.
That we are taking the gold off them just as they are in their worst financial crisis – well, it can’t be helped. That the customs metal detector out west at the airport also went off when the team went through customs – well, that can’t be helped either.
Not exactly the kind of carcasses Faroese sheep farmers dream of, but the legs have spoken for themselves! From left: Jan Elmar, Jóan Karl, Guttorm, Rúni, Regin, Hallur, Bjørk and Rebekka.
Slept in??
In the Hi-Ace on the way out to Laugardalur
The driver is at the front, he steers very bumpy………dumpy
The rock formations in Iceland are big. How many there are in the picture is for each individual to decide.
The banner hung up both days.
Jóan Karl is interested in the split times. Rúni has probably spotted someone cute.
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