Machine-translated from Faroese and not yet reviewed. Read the original.
The squad for the Island Games has now finally been selected. Several athletes came close to reaching the qualification standards, but the result was a rather smaller squad than FÍF had expected and hoped for. These are the six who will compete on the Isle of Wight:
Heri Ziska, Hvirlan: discus and hammer. He will represent the Faroe Islands at the Island Games for the 11th time. That is two more than the other five have between them, so this is a very experienced gentleman. Heri has not only taken part for the Faroe Islands. He has also won us a whole heap of medals. Only at the first Island Games in the Faroe Islands 22 years ago, in Shetland in 2005 and most recently in Åland has Heri come home empty-handed. All told, that adds up to no fewer than 13 medals:
- 2 golds: discus 1999 and 2003
- 3 silvers: discus 1995 and 1997, and hammer 1995
- 8 bronzes: discus 1993, 2001 and 2007, hammer 1997, 1999 and 2001, and shot put 1995 and 1997
On the Isle of Wight, Heri will first and foremost compete in his favourite event, the discus, but he will also try his hand at the hammer. There are hopes of a medal. Qualifying for the Island Games did not look particularly promising, but with the last throw of the last competition it finally came good. With a throw of 43.53 metres, Heri is now showing his best form in some four years. His form has improved a great deal over the winter, and if his preparations go well over the last few weeks, we can also expect a throw or two around the 45-metre mark. Hopefully that will be enough for a medal of some kind….. it usually is.
Heri Ziska, the grand old man – competing for the 11th time!
Bjørk Herup Olsen, Bragdið, has been entered for the 5,000 m, the 10,000 m and the 1/2 marathon. Although only 19 years old, Bjørk is the second most experienced member of the team. These are the 3rd Games she has taken part in. Bjørk lives in the USA, where she runs for the university she attends. Her results this winter and spring have not been quite as good as last summer, but there is now every indication that she is heading for peak form. There are definitely hopes of a medal. Bjørk is unlikely to run all three distances she has been entered for. Her final training sessions will decide exactly which distances she will compete in.
19 years old with plenty of experience. Bjørk Herup Olsen competing for the 3rd time.
Rúni Seloy, Bragdið: 400 metres and 800 metres. At the last Island Games in Åland, Rúni took everyone by surprise. He had been selected under the special talent quota, and nobody had expected great things. To our great surprise, however, he did nothing less than run his way safely into the final while knocking a good six seconds off his own personal best. In the final there was not much strength left, but even so, 15-year-old Rúni ran his way to a very creditable 7th place. A month later Rúni took yet another second off his personal best, which then became 1:56.73. Unfortunately, Rúni has been half-injured for both of the last two winters, and so he has not yet improved on that time. But now things are looking brighter. At the weekend Rúni won the Tårnby Games in a time of 1:58.05. The medals in the 800 metres have sometimes gone for less, so if Rúni can sharpen his form a little more over the last few weeks and run to his very best, a medal is definitely possible.
Rúni Seloy celebrating his place in the final in Åland. On the Isle of Wight he runs the 400 and 800 metres again
Rebekka Fuglø, Treysti: 800 metres and 1,500 metres. Rebekka competed at her first Island Games two years ago. The result was not as good as hoped, and the reality is that her results from summer 2008 until last summer did not live up to the results and the hopes for the future that her earlier performances had promised. But a lot has happened this winter. Training every day and fewer injuries have meant that Rebekka is now running to her best and beyond. She won every women’s race in the Winter Series, and at the Pallas Spelen in Malmö in February she won gold in the 1,500 and silver in the 800 metres, where she also set a new Faroese indoor record. On top of that, in March she also became Danish G19 champion in both the 800 m and the 1,500 m. The times Rebekka is running now have often been enough for a medal in the past, and with the barometer rising, there is definitely a chance of a medal.
Rebekka Fuglø in Gothenburg last summer. Will she also take the Faroese outdoor record in the 800 m?
Øssur Debes Eiriksfoss, Hvirlan: triple jump and high jump. Øssur is known from gymnastics, where he is a regular member of the national team. As a gymnast he has developed a special talent for athletics, especially the triple jump and the high jump. Gymnastics has been Øssur’s first priority, but over the past year athletics has also taken up a lot of his time. Over the past year he has set new Faroese records in the high jump and triple jump, both indoors and outdoors. Records that would otherwise have stood for a long time. If Øssur is to have any hopes of a medal, it will be in the triple jump. His best jump so far is 13.40 m, which he jumped in Reykjavík in January. It is quite conceivable, though, that Øssur will jump a little further, and the bronze in the triple jump has on several occasions gone for somewhat under 14 metres.
Øssur Debes Eiriksfoss in the spotlight after a Faroese record in the high jump. It is in the triple jump, however, that his best medal hopes lie.
Marnar Djurhuus, Treysti: 5,000 and 10,000 metres. Although it is only a year and a half since Marnar really started running, he has already made his mark in earnest. Most recently last Saturday, when he became the youngest ever winner of the Faroese Half Marathon Championships, and 12 days before that, when he won the Flag Day race. In this short time he has also gained real experience abroad, both for Treysti and for FÍF’s talent group, and also with a special Danish select team. And he has made his mark abroad too, as he is the Danish Boys 15 champion in the 3,000 metres both indoors and outdoors! Although he won the Faroese 1/2 marathon championship, that is not the distance he will run at the Island Games. Here he and his coach Guttorm Sørensen have chosen to focus on the 5,000 and 10,000 metres. Marnar is expected not to be too far off the fight for the medals, so with a little luck he could really get himself involved.
Marnar Djurhuus, the 16-year-old rising star from Morskranes, ready for the Island Games after completing the double (Flag Day race + Faroese 1/2 marathon championship)
In two years’ time the Games go to Bermuda. Hopefully that is a great consolation for those who fell short this time. Two years go by quickly, and in reality the qualification standards have to be met as early as next summer. Three young debutants are going to the Isle of Wight. With good training in the time ahead, there is little doubt that more than three young debutants will be boarding the plane for Bermuda 2013.
The Faroese team departs on 25 June and returns on 2 July.
