Team Western Isles have brought up their medal tally to five after a final day of track success saw Eilidh Mackenzie get silver in the 800 metres and the half marathon team of Alison Campbell and Mairi MacCormick grab bronze.
The medal haul outstrips the team's performance in Rhodes two years ago and, at the time of writing, propelled the Western Isles into 16th overall in the medals, just behind Orkney and Shetland.
In the 800 metres Eilidh started off very strong and
was well ahead of the rest of the group until the last 10 metres or so when young Emma Leask from Shetland came storming through. However with only four hundredths of a second separating both competitors it was a close finish. Eilidh returns to Lewis with silver and gold medals!
Next up were the 4 x 400m relay team consisting of Stewart Chalmers, Cameron Ross, Rory McClure and Donnie MacLeod who were sporting new hair colours. The Scandinavian influence in Åland must have been too much for them and the hair dye did not achieve the desired colour as they all looked on the redder side of blonde!
The team finished in 4th position and although Donnie MacLeod, who raced last, did some catching up the gap was too large to ensure bronze. The Guernsey team who won the race qualified within Commonwealth time and deservedly secured gold. It was a fantastic race to watch and the pace was incredible.
The half marathon team's hopes and prayers were definitely answered when around 9am the heavens opened. The rain did not last long but it left the sky cloudy again until mid afternoon which made conditions easier than they would have been earlier in the week.
Alison Campbell secured 4th place with a time of 1.26.30 and Mairi MacCormick's finish despite going over her ankle at the 5km mark meant that Team Western Isles picked up a bronze medal for the half marathon team event. Alasdair Murray also completed the half marathon in the respectable time of 1.30.
Tomorrow night will see the official closing ceremony and Team Western Isles will head back home on Sunday after a fantastic week in Åland which saw many athletes set new personal bests and some secure silverware for Team Western Isles.
Overall summary @ 1745 on Friday 3rd July 2009:
1 x Gold – Eilidh MacKenzie (1500m)
2 x Silver – Eilidh MacKenzie (800m) and Donnie MacLeod (400m)
2 x Bronze - Alison Campbell (10,000m) and Alison Campbell and Mairi MacCormick (half marathon team)
