One Faroese record and an “Icelandic champion”

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

So the first day of competition in Kópavogur is over, and we can look back on a day of good Faroese performances, in which we got both a Faroese record and a Faroese “Icelandic champion”.

It was Margit Weihe Fríðmundsdóttir who set the Faroese record. She had a busy day, which began with qualifying in the long jump. Here she managed 4.77 m to make the final in ninth place out of 24 jumpers in total. Edna Maria Debes also competed in the long jump, but her 4.44 metres were not enough for the final.

Margit got both the day and the board just right, and improved her Faroese long jump record by one centimetre (photo: Heri Ziska)

Before the final, the 100 m was also on the programme. Margit ran in the first heat alongside the powerful Icelandic sprint and long jump star Hafdís Sigurðardóttir. Although Hafdís pulled clearly ahead, this did not unsettle Margit, who despite a hesitant start ran her best time ever – 13.65 seconds, even into a 1.5 m/s headwind. Overall, Margit finished 10th.

Margit didn’t get the best start in the 100 metres, but ran strongly through the race and ended up running her best time (photo: Heri Ziska)

Things got a little chaotic when the long jump final was about to start. The organisers did not think the Faroese, as guest participants, could take places in the final, so Margit was not on the list. Fortunately we got this sorted out, but it unsettled Margit somewhat. Her first two jumps were not as good as those earlier in the day in the qualifying round, but a change to her run-up brought immediate results. 4.85 metres and a new Faroese record by one centimetre! On top of that she was one of the eight who now got three more jumps. Despite a long day of competition, her last three jumps all measured over 4.70 metres. All in all an excellent day for Margit, who runs the 200 metres tomorrow. Edna Maria Debes competes tomorrow in the triple jump, which must be considered her strongest event.

Edna Maria Debes fought bravely, but didn’t have her best day and therefore didn’t make the final (photo: Heri Ziska)

Our “Icelandic champion” today was Rebekka Fuglø, who made short work of the 1,500 metres. Two Icelanders set off as if they had been shot out of a cannon. Rebekka did not want to let them get too far ahead and kept them on a short leash. After 500 metres the air went out of their balloon, and Rebekka now showed who was the strongest. Focused, and with her trademark will to win, she passed first one and then the other. And then there was no doubt about who was going to win this race. Rebekka’s final time was 4:39.62 – 4 seconds off her Faroese record for the distance. Bjørk Herup Olsen also ran in this 1,500 m final. She finished fourth in 4:59.52 min. Tomorrow Rebekka runs the 800 metres, while Bjørk, together with Marna Egholm, runs the 3,000 m.

In grand style Rebekka showed the Icelanders who is best in the northern seas at running 1,500 metres (photo: Heri Ziska)

Déjà vu? No. Just as in 2010, Bjørk Herup Olsen wins a long sprint against Fríða Rún Tordardóttir (photo: Heri Ziska)

Rúni Seloy also ran the 1,500 metres today. His race was close and exciting all the way to the line. Four runners were more or less level for the first 1,200 metres. Then Rúni tried a “long shot” and held off the others. But with 100 metres to go he was caught, and the last 100 metres became both a battle for victory and for holding on to second place. In the end Rúni finished second with his best time so far over the distance. The clock showed 4:11. Tomorrow Rúni runs the 800 metres.

Rúni led at times, and came close to beating all the Icelanders. In the end he finished second (photo: Heri Ziska)

There was also Faroese participation in the men’s long jump. The requirement for a place in the final was a top-12 finish, but a jump over 6.20 metres gave automatic qualification. Tórur Mortensen made quick work of it. He first jumped a safe 6.10 metres and then stepped it up in the second round, where with 6.26 metres he jumped straight into the final, which was three hours later. Here Tórur opened with a big jump of 6.40 metres, which also turned out to be his longest. That was enough for fourth place, which has to be called an excellent result for the 17-year-old. Tomorrow Tórur competes in the triple jump.

Tórur Mortensen flew out to 6.40 metres today – just 9 centimetres off his best jump. (photo: Heri Ziska)

Our strong javelin thrower Hanus Bergsson was also due to compete today, but in a competition at Tórsvøllur on Wednesday evening he injured his throwing arm, and it was therefore not considered advisable for him to compete. Very unfortunate for Hanus, who would very probably have finished second in the competition. Our other thrower is Hallur Simonsen, and he is ready for action tomorrow, when the discus is held.