Brave performances by both 800 metre runner Stephane Schoeman and half-marathoner Victoria Fiddick rounded out Bermuda's track and field participation at the Island Games yesterday, but neither had medals to show for their efforts.

Schoeman finished desperately close to a bronze in her final while Swedish national Fiddick, who often visited Aland as a child and was watched by several members of her family, took sixth place over the same distance in which she won this year's May 24 Derby.

Surging around the last bend, Schoeman looked a gold medal certainty, poised to overtake the leader and push on for victory.

But as quickly as she moved up a gear, the legs gave way, leaving her to rue what might have been.

By the time the South African had reached the finish line she had dropped to fourth, missing the bronze by 0.16 of a second.

Her time of 2:16.06 was an improvement on her semi-final 2:17.77 when she cruised home with ease.

Yesterday, that finishing burst was nowhere to be seen.

"I just ran out of steam," said Schoeman afterwards. "I think I just started to kick too early, but that's the way it goes.

"It did play into my hands because it was a slow first lap. It was exactly the type of race in which I should be able to compete, but the last 20 metres, I just didn't have it."

Having not competed for eight years and still recovering from a hamstring injury, Schoeman said the Island Games experience had provided the incentive to resurrect her athletic career.

"I'm not at peak fitness, but I'm going to carry on. Now that I've raced again . . . and I really did enjoy it . . . I think I want to continue training. I don't even know what kind of meets they have in Bermuda."

Training under Tony Bean, who has brought the athletic team to the Games after Bermuda Track and Field Association decided not to send an official squad, Schoeman hinted she might be interested in targeting next year's Commonwealth Games in India.

"It's possible," she said.

Fiddick completed the two-lap half-marathon course in 1:28.19, some five minutes slower than her best time over the distance. But competing against women, some of whom were almost 20 years younger in a field of 20, the Masters runner said she wasn't disappointed.

"My time wasn't bad, and obviously you want to do better. I beat girls who were ahead of me at the last Games but there were a lot of new girls who I've never raced against," she said.

"I have run much better times, consistently I've run 1:26 and I have run 1:23 when I was flying.

"It wasn't a hilly course but it was windy. The first lap felt good but then on the second lap I was losing like 10 seconds every kilometere. You can't do that, you have to keep your pace. It was like I was in the wrong gear, I couldn't get out of that gear.

"But I'm 43 and some of those girls are 26.

"If Ashley (Estwanik) or Dawn (Richardson) had been here, we could have worked together . . . most of the time I was running alone.

"I was capable of a much faster race, I wanted 1:24 or 1:25 but at the end of the day I'm not disappointed. It's been a fantastic Games."

A hamstring injury prevented Daniel Tucker from competing in the triple jump. And he blamed that injury for his performance in the long jump earlier this week when he propped up the field with a best leap of 5.21 metres in his 18-strong preliminary qualifier.

Teenage sensation Kaisey Griffith bagged another three gold medals to add to the five she collected earlier in the week as Bermuda's gymnastics team once again dominated on the final day of Island Games competition at the Bollhalla gym yesterday.

In the Individual Set routines, Griffith came out tops in the Floor Exercises, the Asymmetric Bars and the Beam, and team-mate Morgan Beckles made sure of a gold sweep for Bermuda as she won the Vault while Griffith collected silver in the same discipline.

Adding to the medal haul was Caitlyn Mello who won silver on the Floor and bronze on the Beam.

More than 40 gymnasts from seven islands competed yesterday but, as has been the case all week, it was the young Bermuda team who took centre stage, Griffith in particular.

Having been a part of the squad that won the team competition on Monday, she collected another four gold on Wednesday and with yesterday's three, she'll bring back a personal haul of eight golds when the team return on Sunday.

Altogether the gymnasts have snatched 22 medals during the three days of competition, drawing praise from the judges and their rivals.

Mello and Hannah King came close to adding to the tally yesterday with fourth place finishes on the Floor and Bars.

Competing for the first time this week was Bermuda reserve Rosie Finnigan who placed 10th in the Asymmetric Bars, 12th on the Vault and 26th on the Beam.