Corrin Leeming and Rachael Franklin stormed to gold medals in the men’s and women’s half-marathons at the NatWest Island Games on Friday morning.

The duo had already won several medals each heading into the races around the island’s capital of St Peter Port but they showed no signs of letting up as they each grabbed their respective races by the scruff of the neck.

Straight from the start Franklin led the field and looked comfortable at the head of the pack as the athletes took in five laps of a 4km circuit through the town before heading to Market Square for the finish line.

With two golds already secured in the women’s 1,500m and 5,000m track races earlier in the week, Franklin marked her half-marathon debut in style as she eased to victory in a time of one hour 22 minutes and 15 seconds.

Behind her, Isle of Man team-mate Rebekah Pate marked her Island Games debut with a strong run to finish 15th and with it secure team silver alongside Franklin.

In the men’s race, Leeming and Corlett formed part of a five-strong group of runners who broke clear early on and stayed in front for the majority.

Corrin Leeming (centre) on his way top victory in the men's half-marathon, with team-mate Alan Corlett in hot pursuit
Corrin Leeming (centre) on his way top victory in the men's half-marathon, with team-mate Alan Corlett in hot pursuit (Dave Norton)

Then, in the latter stages of the race, Leeming forged ahead and opened up a nine-second advantage which he gradually increased and eventually crossed the finishline 41 seconds clear of the runner-up to clinched gold and ensure he has now won medals of every colour at this year’s Games.

Corlett also ran a strong race and was unlucky to miss out on an individual podium when finishing only five seconds off third place, but his exploits - plus those of Sam Jones who also ran well to claim a fine 11th place - helped seal team gold for the Isle of Man.