Machine-translated from Faroese and not yet reviewed. Read the original.
Loyal readers of athletics.fo will surely think they recognise this headline. And they won’t be far wrong either. Because in September 2010 there was a headline here on the site that read: “Øssur Debes Eiriksfoss sets 2 Faroese records on Saturday”
There is a lot going on in athletics these days. Both Hvirlan and Treysti are in Iceland with large groups, where they have been competing in a big meet in Reykjavík called Stórmót IR. It hardly gets bigger than that! Most of them are children and young people, but a few adult participants have also represented our clubs and our country. One of them was Øssur Debes Eiriksfoss from Hvirlan, who is perhaps not the athlete we have heard the most about in athletics circles.
Øssur being interviewed by 3-2 right after setting the Faroese record in the high jump in September. (photo: Hvirlan)
Øssur has been a gymnast since childhood, and from that he has developed abilities that can be put to good use in athletics. It is especially in the high jump, but not least in the triple jump, that Øssur has shown real talent. And it was also in these two events that the old records fell in September.
Øssur has not had many opportunities to compete in these events, as they are so rarely organised. But now in Iceland he had a golden opportunity to show what he can do. First up was the triple jump. The first four rounds did not go so well. One foul and the others around 13 metres. In September he had three jumps over 13 metres, the longest being 13.25 and a Faroese record. But then in the fifth jump it all came together. 13.33 metres and a new Faroese record. In the sixth and final jump it got even better. 13.40 metres and yet another improvement of the Faroese record. That was enough for a silver medal. The gold medallist, like Øssur, set a national record, with a jump of 15.27 metres!
From the triple jump competition in September (photo: Hvirlan)
Later today it was the turn of the high jump. There were 9 participants, and the competition started at 150 cm. Øssur came into the competition at 160 cm and cleared at the first attempt. The bar was then raised by 10 cm, and again at 170 cm Øssur cleared at the first attempt. Only one participant had dropped out so far, and now the bar went up to 175 cm. And once again it went like clockwork. The height cleared at the first attempt.
Still eight of the nine participants left, and now the height was 180 cm, or 4 cm above the Faroese record. In September Øssur was only millimetres and sheer bad luck away from clearing this height, so this time it had to happen! The first attempt failed, but at the second attempt it worked. Another new record!
The only difference between Øssur and the birds is that Øssur flies on his back. (photo: Hvirlan)
One more participant went out at 180 cm, and now the height was 185 cm. Øssur had three attempts, but all three failed. Three athletes went out at this height. One had more and one had fewer failed attempts than Øssur, who therefore finished in 6th place. The medals went for 200, 195 and 185 cm.
Øssur also competed in the long jump, where he finished 4th with 5.75 metres, and in the 60 m hurdles, where he finished 17th in 7.88 sec.
There were three more Faroese senior medals in Reykjavík over the weekend. An old acquaintance of ours won silver in both the 3,000 on Saturday and the 1,500 m on Sunday. We are talking about the eternally young Guttormur Sørensen from Treysti. Another Treysti man won a bronze medal in the 1,500 metres, and he too is an eternally young man, namely Borgar Biskopstø.
Borgar Biskopstø (1962!!) won bronze in the 1,500 m at Stórmót IR in Reykjavík. (Photo: Treysti)
Both Hvirlan and Treysti have won several medals among the younger athletes, and a few gold medals have been won too! www.hvirlan.fo and www.treysti.fo have published or will publish reports from the competitions, which have shown that athletics has a golden future.
All the results from the competition are here: http://mot.fri.is/cgi-bin/ibmot/dagskraib1553.htm Go to Úrslit dagur 1 or Úrslit dagur 2 and search for Færeyjar
