'Unassuming' star Nowacki ends with eight Island Games golds

BBC News

7 hours ago

Jersey swimmer Filip Nowacki has ended the Island Games with eight gold medals. The 17-year-old European junior champion twice smashed the Island Games record to win the 200m breaststroke on the final day of swimming.Having taken more than four-and-a-half seconds off the record in the heats Nowacki set another new record of 2:05.89 as he cruised to victory in the final.He finished almost 13 seconds ahead of silver medal-winning teammate Oscar Dodds as he set a new mark almost nine seconds quicker than the old record set by Faroe Islands' Olympian Pal Joensen set in 2015. It was the latest success for the 17-year-old who has the potential to be one of Jersey's finest-ever sportsmen.Earlier this month he won two gold medals and a silver at the European Junior Championships as he dominated the breaststroke events.He set a new European junior record in the 200m breaststroke while he also took gold in the 100m breaststroke - breaking the British junior record held by multiple Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Adam Peaty.It came a few months after he won his first senior British medals having been included in the Team GB world class programme for the first time."He comes here, he performs well, but you wouldn't know he's at the level he's at, he sort of just mucks in with everyone," Jersey swim coach Nathan Jegou told BBC Radio Jersey."He's very unassuming, dedicates himself to being the best sportsman he can be and we're proud to have him with us."He's put himself on the map. He's top 10 in the world probably at the moment."
That talent has seen him win a total of 11 medals of all colours in the short-course event in Orkney. If he were an island on his own as of Thursday evening Nowacki would be seventh on the medals table lying in-between hosts Orkney and the Isle of Wight.But despite seven individual golds, he says his best memory has been breaking the Island Games record with his team-mates to win the 4x100m medley relay on Wednesday."I think yesterday's relay really topped it," he said."To win and to break a championship record is truly special, so to be able to stand at the top with the boys that I've trained with in the past is truly amazing."While the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles is the longer term goal for Nowacki, next summer's Commonwealth Games is very much on his radar. With Jersey competing as a nation in their own right in Glasgow, Nowacki will have the chance to race at his first senior international meet against the best swimmers from the British home nations as well countries including Australia, Canada and South Africa."Peak male performance is not until your mid-20s, he's 17, so he's in no rush and we keep trying to tell him that," added Jegou, who has coached Nowacki since he was 11 in Jersey before encouraging him to move to Millfield School last year. "I think coming to these sort of events allows that to happen as well, that's why I think the Commonwealth Games next year will be good."But his coach says the Island Games has been a great first experience of a multi-sport event."Sometimes being an elite sportsman can be hard work, you can be quite isolated, especially in individual sports," Jegou said."So he's here with 15 other Jersey people that he's grown up with pretty much, and he loves that, so as long as he keeps enjoying it, who knows?"
Elsewhere Clara Ginnis showed she was the class distance swimmer of these games as she won the women's 800m freestyle by almost six seconds from compatriot Hannah Sterry. She added the 800m title to the 40mm and 1500m freestyle gold medals she had won earlier in the games. Sam Sterry won silver in the men's 400m freestyle while Megan Hansford, Hannah Sterry, Erin Goodbody and Ellie Grant helped Jersey win bronze in the women's 4x100m women medley relay.