Record-breaking Nowacki wins first Island Games medal
Jersey's European junior record holder Filip Nowacki twice smashed the Island Games record as he won 100m breaststroke gold.
The 17-year-old's time in the heats of 58.73 took more than 1.5 seconds off the former Island Games record set by compatriot Ian Black in 2015.
Advertisement
Nowacki, who set a long course best of 59.59 earlier while with Great Britain, lowered his Island Games record as he swam 58.10 in the final in the short course pool at Kirkwall as he took more than two seconds off the previous record.
His team-mate Matthew Deffains finished sixth in the same final.
The gold came soon after compatriot Sam Sterry had won silver in the 1,500m freestyle.
Sterry was second almost 11 seconds behind Faroe Islands' Liggjas Joensen.
Earlier this month Nowacki won two gold medals and a silver at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Slovakia.
Silver medal for Jersey's cyclists
Meanwhile Jersey's first medal of the day came from their cyclists in the men's team time trial.
Advertisement
The squad of Ollie Cadin, Tom Huelin, Samuel Nisbet and Jack Rebours were second behind the Isle of Man, with Gibraltar getting bronze.
Huelin was Jersey's best rider as he finished fourth in the individual event, 45 seconds off Guernsey's bronze medallist Philip Touzeau.
Rebours was one place and seven seconds further back, while Nisbet was eighth and Cadin 13th.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
A world championship medalist at 12 years old? Meet Chinese swimming prodigy Yu Zidi
At age 12, surrounded by seasoned veterans, Summer McIntosh swam the 400-meter individual medley at the 2019 Canadian Trials in an eye-opening time of 4 minutes, 50.21 seconds. Yu Zidi just eclipsed that time by more than 16 seconds. At age 12, competing at a prestigious junior meet in Toronto, McIntosh swam the 200 IM in a speedy 2:20.84. Yu just outclassed that time by more than 11 seconds. Those staggering comparisons to McIntosh, who won three gold medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, help put into perspective how insanely fast China's 12-year-old swimming prodigy already is. Not only is Yu achieving feats no other pre-teen girl ever has, she is holding her own against the world's best swimmers before she's even old enough to complete middle school. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Yu became the youngest swimmer ever to medal at the World Aquatics Championships last Thursday in Singapore when she helped China take bronze in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. While Yu did not swim in the final, she qualified for a medal after swimming the first leg in the prelims earlier in the day. Remarkably, Yu's medal-winning effort in the relay wasn't her most jaw-dropping achievement of her week in Singapore. Yu, who won't turn 13 until October, also took fourth place in three individual events, missing the podium by 0.06 seconds in the women's 200-meter IM on Monday, by 0.31 seconds in the women's 200-meter butterfly on Thursday and by 0.50 seconds in the women's 400-meter IM on Sunday. Swimming that fast on a global stage transformed Yu from a Chinese star to a global curiosity. Media outlets hailed Yu as the heir to McIntosh, the 18-year-old Canadian sensation who took four golds and a bronze in Singapore. Accomplished swimmers from around the world heaped praise on the Chinese preteen known for her signature cartoon dog swim cap. 'Her 12-year-old times are much faster than mine at that age,' Romanian freestyle star David Popovici told China Daily. "Everyone is a bit scared of her,' celebrated Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee told Chinese state media. In a recent feature story published by China's state-run news agency, Yu revealed that she only began swimming at age 6. Her family took her to a water park that summer to help her endure the heat in her hometown of Baoding about 100 miles south of Beijing. 'I enjoyed the coolness of the water and spent a lot of time in different small pools for kids,' Yu said. 'One day, a coach approached me and asked if I wanted to swim faster. I then joined a daily swimming class for kids for the rest of the summer.' What started as a hobby soon became more than that. A lot more. Yu first hit the headlines last year when she missed out on an Olympic qualifying time for Paris by only two seconds as an 11-year-old. Then at China's national championships in May, Yu took second place in the 200-meter IM in 2:10.63, the fastest time ever recorded in the discipline by a 12-year-old, male or female. World Aquatics rules require an athlete to be at least 14 years old to compete at a global championship, but there's a caveat. Swimmers who meet the A qualification standard in an event are granted access to the competition regardless of their age. That's how Yu secured an invitation to Singapore. That's how she earned the chance to cement herself as swimming's next big thing. Will Yu continue her climb to the top of her sport as the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles approach? That seems likely but not guaranteed. Swimming careers seldom follow linear trajectories. Plenty of teen phenoms have plateaued or even burnt out before their 20th birthdays. In the story by Chinese state-run news agency, Yu acknowledged she too has struggled to balance training and academics. "I almost gave up swimming before the national championships last year due to exhaustion from training and studies,' she said. 'Fortunately, thanks to my coaches, teammates, friends and parents, I realized swimming is an integral part of my life, and I cannot give it up." What is clear is that at age 12, Yu is already among the best in the world. McIntosh was 14 at her first Olympics. Katie Ledecky was 15. Yu is ascending at an even more unfathomable rate.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
2025 NCAA men's swimming and diving D-II title will remain vacant after Drury team member violated NCAA anti-doping rules
Drury University is no longer in a tie for the most-ever NCAA Division II men's swimming and diving national titles. Cal State Bakersfield, which transitioned to Division I in the mid-2000s, has reclaimed sole possession of the spot atop the sport's all-time D-II podium, following the removal of Drury's 2025 championship, which was vacated after a member of the team tested positive for an elevated level of caffeine, violating NCAA anti-doping rules. Once the points that swimmer earned in both individual and relay events at the national meet in Indianapolis this past March were subtracted, Drury's adjusted point total no longer put them in first place, per a program release this past Friday. That said, the 2025 national title will remain vacant, according SwimSwam's Monday report. And, so, Tampa, this year's runner-up after finishing 74 points behind Drury, will remain second. Urinary caffeine concentration that's greater than 15 micrograms per milliliter triggers a positive drug test, per NCAA rules. It's important to note, however, that the World Anti-Doping Code no longer limits caffeine consumption. A Speed Endurance report from 2009 stated that consuming 10 cups of standard drip coffee — each equating to approximately 1.5 micrograms per milliliter in the urine — in one hour would produce a urinary caffeine concentration at the NCAA limit, 15 micrograms per milliliter. The Drury swimmer who tested positive was not disclosed by name in the program release. They will be suspended from competition during the 2025-26 academic year and will lose a year of athletic eligibility. "Our swimming and diving program has always been committed to competing at a national championship level and, at the same time, upholding the highest standards of integrity and academic excellence," Drury Vice President and Director of Athletics Nyla Milleson said in last week's program release. "This incident does not change that, and Drury swimming and diving will continue to strive toward those ideals, while educating and preparing our student-athletes for competition at the highest level, as it has for nearly five decades." Drury still has 12 NCAA Division II men's swimming and diving championships in school history, the most among active D-II programs.


New York Times
21 hours ago
- New York Times
Evan Neal's last chance? Inside the Giants lineman's move to guard: ‘You see the flashes'
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This spring, at New York Giants OTAs, defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches approached Evan Neal. 'You can't keep doing this,' the 11-year veteran told the offensive lineman. 'You're going to continuously get beat.' Neal, a 2022 first-round pick, has spent this offseason working on his transition from tackle to guard. During OTAs, Neal played dozens of snaps with the starting offense and against the starting defense, meaning he matched up against Nuñez-Roches pretty often. Following this particular play, Neal, who is 6-foot-7 and 340 pounds, used a familiar hand technique, leaving him vulnerable to a wise veteran like Nuñez-Roches. Advertisement 'Once I beat your hands, I'm gone,' Nuñez-Roches told Neal. 'I'm too quick for you to recover.' Fortunately for Neal, the conversation continued. When asked about it later, Neal said they talked about the importance of changing things up — like using different set angles to throw off defenders off and varying how he uses his hands. As Neal said, 'In this league, it's all about adaptability.' That word is one Neal has had to embrace — not only with his technique but with his entire career. Three seasons ago, he was poised to become a Giants building block. The franchise drafted Neal at No. 7 out of Alabama, expecting him to serve as the pillar opposite All-Pro left tackle Andrew Thomas for years to come. But that never happened. Injuries — he's played in just 29 games in three seasons — and poor play resulted in Neal coming to something of a crossroads this offseason. If he was going to make it in New York, it was not going to be at tackle. And so, the transition began. Neal's been working at guard this offseason and now finds himself in a competition with last season's starter, 35-year-old journeyman Greg Van Roten, at right guard. Though preseason depth charts tend not to mean too much, the Giants listed Van Roten as the starter and Neal as his backup on their first depth chart, released Tuesday. While the switch to guard is an adjustment for Neal at the NFL level, he has some experience inside, playing left guard his freshman year at Alabama in 2019. Obviously, Neal couldn't simply rely on that experience to carry him through, and he didn't. He spent part of his offseason working at his old school, IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, dialing in on footwork that would be required of him to play guard. He also focused on building up his strength and endurance. With the Giants back at training camp for the past two weeks, teammates have seen a change in Neal's play and his confidence at the new position. Advertisement 'It's like, OK, you're playing the game. You're getting comfortable,' Nuñez-Roches said. 'He's already a big man. No one's getting around him. When he throws those combinations at you, it not only has you guessing, but now you don't know where to put your hands.' Left guard Jon Runyan Jr. has some experience with transitioning to guard, as he primarily played tackle in college. He's been encouraged by the progress he's seen Neal make. 'At guard, you're in a wrestling match, like kind of in a phone booth,' Runyan said. 'You have to stay in front of the guys; you have to anchor, and you have to set the depth of the pocket. And Evan, you see those flashes of him when he gets his feet under control and he's punching; he's a large human, and not many people can bull rush him and set him back.' Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, who regularly lines up next to Neal, is already thinking about how 'double teams are going to be terrible for defensive tackles.' 'Playing guard is a hard position in this offense, because you have to know so much,' Eluemunor said. 'You have to be basically a center. … You have to know the slides, the squeezes, the defenses, how to ID the fronts, all those different things. … But he's getting the technique down, and he's such a big freaking guy that you're not gonna run through him. You try to run around him, and he's gonna put those freaking 40-inch arms (Neal's arms measured at 34 inches at the NFL combine) on you, and it's over. He's really bought into it.' So far during training camp, Neal's on-field results have been mixed. The highs — stonewalling impressive rookie edge rusher Abdul Carter in a one-on-one matchup last week and playing fairly well in some team periods — have been encouraging, but the lows — losing to Carter on the ensuring one-on-one rep last week and getting pushed to the ground too much during some team periods — are indicative of a player who is still adjusting to a new position. Evan Neal v. Abdul Carter round 2 — Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) July 29, 2025 'I'm still working out the kinks,' Neal said. 'It's been a while since I played guard, so the set angles are just a bit different. Just trying to get comfortable in my guard stance and just making sure my technique is on point. But that's gonna come with time. 'I've been getting better and better. I'm not where I want to be, but I'm on the way.' Advertisement Neal has largely split starting reps with Van Roten during camp, but he's recently picked up a majority of the first-team snaps as Van Roten missed three practices last week while awaiting the birth of his daughter. With Van Roten back Monday, the two rotated again, while Neal also played some second-team snaps at left guard. Neal has said he's willing to play wherever the Giants need him, but he acknowledged that since he has played on the right side the last three seasons, that does feel 'a bit more comfortable.' Keeping him on the right should suit the Giants, as Runyan has settled into the left guard role. While it's fair to presume the Giants would prefer Neal to win the right guard job with Van Roten likely nearing the end of his career and playing on a one-year deal, coach Brian Daboll hasn't tipped his hand on who is leading the competition. Instead, Daboll said the team will be looking closely at each player's performance in the preseason. The Giants' first game action comes Saturday against the Buffalo Bills. Exactly how many reps Neal will play Saturday and throughout the rest of the preseason remains an open question, with Daboll not yet unveiling his plans for playing time during the exhibition season. However, it would stand to reason that the team would want to get Neal plenty of snaps so he can keep adjusting to the spot. Greg Van Roten on Evan Neal's transition to playing guard: "It's not easy to move inside, especially at this level, but he's taking it in stride, he's trying to learn every day, work on his technique, and improve" — Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) August 5, 2025 While Neal certainly is still figuring out his new position, he's embraced the challenge. It's hard not to notice a sense of calm exuding from the lineman when he talks about the forthcoming season. To that end, Neal believes that being healthy and focusing on football, rather than any outside critiques or criticisms, has put him in a better headspace. All he cares about, he said, is putting himself in a position to help the team win. But, of course, Neal will win, too, if this switch pans out. He's playing in the final year of his rookie contract after the Giants declined to exercise his fifth-year option. 'There's a natural amount of pressure playing a high-level sport like this in general,' Neal said. 'But I'm confident in myself. I'm confident in my abilities and my work ethic. I know I'm going to be all right. Nothing's ever perfect, but I know that (if) I continue to approach the game the way I approach it, I'll be okay.' — The Athletic's Dan Duggan contributed to this report