Top to bottom: Thomas Riley, Michael Haslett and Peter Richardson all pictured by Ian Astin during their NatWest Island Games debuts in Rhodes in 2007.Exactly half of the 20-strong athletics team will be experiencing the Island Games for the second time, all ten having made their debuts in Rhodes in 2007. They all acquitted themselves very well 2 years ago, and will be hoping to use that experience to push on to bigger and better things this time around. This blog entry focuses on 3 of the men who will be taking part in their second Island Games in a month’s time. The remaining 3 men and 4 women in this category will be featured in updates over the next week or so.
The most successful of the 2007 debutants was sprinter Thomas Riley, who produced a great run in the 100m final (and indeed in the heats and semi-final) to take the silver medal in a very rapid time of 10.73. It was such a close race that he finished just one hundredth of a second adrift of the winner.
Over the past winter, Tom spent several months training in America, where he had the opportunity to mix with some of the best sprinters in the world including Tyson Gay – triple gold medallist at the 2007 World Athletics Championships in Osaka. This must have been a fabulous experience, and will hopefully help to inspire Tom to go one better than in 2007 and climb to the top step of the podium in Aland. He will also fancy his chances of further success in the 200m and the 4x100m relay.
He has the family name to uphold too, as his sister Hannah won 10 athletics medals (3 of them gold) at the Island Games between 1999 and 2005 – some record! Tom is a committed and ambitious athlete who definitely has the potential to go higher than Island Games level. The consideration standard for selection for the 100 metres in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India is 10.60, which is surely a realistic target. I hope he makes it!
The most successful of the 2007 debutants was sprinter Thomas Riley, who produced a great run in the 100m final (and indeed in the heats and semi-final) to take the silver medal in a very rapid time of 10.73. It was such a close race that he finished just one hundredth of a second adrift of the winner.
Over the past winter, Tom spent several months training in America, where he had the opportunity to mix with some of the best sprinters in the world including Tyson Gay – triple gold medallist at the 2007 World Athletics Championships in Osaka. This must have been a fabulous experience, and will hopefully help to inspire Tom to go one better than in 2007 and climb to the top step of the podium in Aland. He will also fancy his chances of further success in the 200m and the 4x100m relay.
He has the family name to uphold too, as his sister Hannah won 10 athletics medals (3 of them gold) at the Island Games between 1999 and 2005 – some record! Tom is a committed and ambitious athlete who definitely has the potential to go higher than Island Games level. The consideration standard for selection for the 100 metres in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India is 10.60, which is surely a realistic target. I hope he makes it!
Michael Haslett and Peter Richardson came away from their debuts in Rhodes with a bronze medal apiece, as part of the 4x100m relay team that finished 3rd. They only narrowly missed out on the podium in the 4x400m relay as well, the very young team finishing in 4th place in a time only about a second outside the IOM Senior record.
Mikey is currently approaching the end of his first year at University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, and has really pushed on strongly with his athletics career over the past 2 years. His main event is the 400m hurdles, and already this season he has run a time that should put him in with a real chance of medalling in Aland. His 55.55 second clocking at Bath at the end of April was recorded in his first outdoor event of the season after a couple of weeks of illness, giving every encouragement that he can run even faster by this time next month. He must be pretty much a certainty to be in both relay teams too – both of which look like being very strong.
As well as being a very fine athlete, Mikey is a real team man who enjoys helping and encouraging other athletes. I know Tom Richmond was very grateful to him for doing a lot of speed work with him before last year’s Commonwealth Youth Games even though Mikey himself had narrowly missed out on selection. Oh, and Mikey also provided some of the best entertainment of the Rhodes Games - during the women’s football match between the Isle of Man and Aland! I wonder if the Aland number 9 will be playing against the Isle of Man again this year? If so, I want to be somewhere in the vicinity of Mr Haslett!!
Peter is also finishing his first year at University, in his case at Sheffield Hallam. He is an athlete of great natural talent, and performed really well on his debut in Rhodes. As well as being part of both relay teams, he reached the final of the 400 metres - quite an achievement in an event that was exceptionally strong 2 years ago. He had a fairly low-key season in 2008 when he competed mainly for fun, but over the past winter he has trained very hard and has started this season in good form.
He is a real all-round athlete, and is also likely to be competing in the long-jump competition in Aland. Following the Rhodes Games, Peter decided to have a crack at hurdling, and caused a major surprise by beating Michael Haslett in the IOM Track & Field Championships that year in a hugely impressive time of 56.0 seconds. I don’t think he has done a lot of hurdling since, but that is definitely a route his athletics career could take in the future.
The distance will increase in the next blog entry – this will focus on middle distance specialist Andy Duncan and half marathon runners Kevin Loundes and Ed Gumbley.
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