Manx athletes break records at Commonwealth Games

The Isle of Man's mixed 4x100m freestyle relay team broke the Manx national record twice in a single day at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, first in their morning heat and then again in the evening final.

Swimmers Ella Justice, Kiera Prentice, Harry Robinson and Joel Watterson won their heat by more than 3.5 seconds, before going quicker in the final to finish in 3:38.65, a new Manx record.

On Friday night, the Isle of Man's men's 4x100m freestyle team came 6th in the final, beating Malaysia and the Cayman Islands.

In the individual events, Alex Turnbull produced the standout individual swim, winning his 50m breaststroke heat in a personal best.

"Happy with that," he said in an interview with Manx News.

"Had to get settled into things, but this is my main event. Everything went according to plan."

First-time Games swimmer Connor Mealin had a tougher outing in the same event but stayed upbeat:

"Didn't feel the stroke, but it's amazing. I'm so grateful for the opportunity."

Charlie Foster, also competing at his first Games, produced a controlled 200m backstroke swim.

"It wasn't a PB, but it was a solid race," he said, adding he expects the shorter 100m on Tuesday to suit him better.

Kiera Prentice continued her consistent form in the 100m freestyle, a day after her role in the record-breaking relay:

"Really happy to be consistent... going under that barrier (1:01) is always nice."

Lauren Dennett echoed the mood after a strong finish of her own: "I felt really good... It's nice to have that much energy at the end."

Out of the pool, in gymnastics, Harry Eyres also had cause for celebration, after a phone call turned him from a reserve into a Commonwealth Games finalist.

The 20-year-old finished 16th in Sunday's all-around final, a largely clean set of routines undone only by a fall on vault.

"I was just so happy to be part of the final," he told Manx News.

"The fall on vault cost me a couple of marks, but to go clean… really proud of myself."

The Isle of Man's 27-strong team is competing across six sports, athletics, cycling, gymnastics, lawn bowls, para-powerlifting and swimming throughout the Games.

The athletics squad, including debutants Christa Cain, Regan Corrin and Jack Kinrade alongside experienced pair Ollie Lockley and David Mullarkey, is due to begin competing this week.

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