Chris Estwanik won Bermuda’s first medal at the NatWest Island Games yesterday, taking gold in the half marathon.

The 35-year-old beat out heavy favourite Lee Merrien of Guernsey, one of the top distance runners in the United Kingdom, crossing the line in a time of 1hr 7min 16sec.

Merrien, who competed for Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics, finished second with a time of 1:07:51, and Kevin Loundes of Isle of Man took bronze in 1:08:41.

“I’m really chuffed to have won,” Estwanik said. “I was the underdog going into the race, and Lee is the premier athlete at these Games. The crowd seemed pretty stunned.”

The six-times May 24th winner is competing in his first Island Games, after missing several in his eight years on the Island due to injuries and work commitments.

“Nobody really knows me out here, and it’s been a while since that was the case,” Estwanik said. “I’m really happy with the race and the result. It was a nice way to kick off the games.”

Estwanik matched up evenly with Olympic athlete Merrien, but just had a bit more in the tank than his counterpart in the gruelling 13.1 mile run.

“We were literally neck and neck for the first seven miles, nothing between us,” Estwanik said.

“He made a move around mile 8-8½ and I covered that, and then I made a move around mile nine, and gapped him a bit, and I could see that he didn’t get back.

“I kept pushing it, the gap widened, and I knew I had him around mile 11.”

Estwanik widened the gap to about 50 metres with two miles to go, and continued to push ahead as the runners made their way along the coastline in the final leg of Jersey’s famous half-marathon course.

The Bermudian runner crossed the line to cheers and applause with a comfortable 200-metre lead, then waited to give a handshake and hug to second-place finisher Merrien moments later.

The father of two then celebrated with a victory lap of the track with his two children and the Bermudan flag.

“Chris ran a good race,” said Merrien. “I didn’t really have it in my legs today. I’m disappointed. I didn’t really make any secret of [expecting to place first].”

“The pace was fast, I found it a bit tougher earlier in the race than I would have liked.”

Estwanik is still unsure if he will compete in the 5,000m tomorrow, and the 10,000m later in the week.

“I’m thinking about it,” he said. “I’m trying to loosen up now, but it does mean that I can go out and enjoy the running, really enjoy it.

“There is a little less pressure after this, I can just race hard and whatever happens, happens.”

Ryan Wilson of Bermuda finished 25th in the men’s race with a time of 1:23:26.

Bermuda’s women were also represented, with Deon Breary taking tenth in the women’s event with a time of 1:28:46. Rose-Anna McShane-Hoey finished 13th in 1:30:55, and Victoria Fiddick was two places further back, finishing in a time of 1:32:32.