President Danny Faure has congratulated Team Seychelles’ athletes on their distinctions in the 10th Indian Ocean Islands Games, which concluded yesterday with the closing ceremony in Mauritius and expressed his joy for their successes.

“It makes me happy to congratulate you, on behalf of the whole country, on your triumphant performance at 10th Indian Ocean Islands Games in Mauritius. You won medals through hard struggle, and displayed true team spirit, excellent sports skills, and strength of character when competing away from home. We are truly proud of your achievements. I wish you all new achievements and all the very best,” said President Faure.

Team Seychelles won a total of 110 medals – 28 gold, 32 silver and .50 bronze – to be ranked fourth on the final medals table.

Mauritius, who hosted the Games for a third time after have done so twice previously in 1985 and in 2003, finished first with 224 medals – 92 gold, 79 silver and 53 bronze. Madagascar came out second overall with 127 medals – 49 gold, 47 silver and 31 bronze –, with Reunion filling third place with 178 medals – 46 gold, 58 silver and 74 bronze.

Maldives collected 15 medals – 4 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze – to rank fifth, followed by Mayotte with 15 medals – 3 gold, 2 silver and 10 bronze – and Comoros with 15 medals – 1 gold, 3 silver and 11 bronze.

President Faure has also congratulated all the trainers and technical staff on their efforts.

“The whole Team Seychelles should be commended for its efforts on the regional stage. We applaud the athletes who worked tirelessly to ensure their selection, prepared diligently, and then put everything on the line against the best athletes from the region. Your achievements are a testament to excellence, grit, and determination,” said President Faure.

The President added: “To the Seychelles sports community, thank you for encouraging our athletes to be their best. Thank you Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Seychelles NATION and Today in Seychelles for your daily coverage of the Games.

“United as one, we can take Seychelles sports to great heights in future IOIG and other major Games our athletes take part in.”

Team Seychelles’ final gold medal came courtesy of the women’s volleyball team who rallied from two sets down to edge Madagascar 3-2 to become the first sports team to win the gold medal three times in a row. The team’s previous two wins came in 2011 in Seychelles and 2015 in Reunion.

As for swimmer Felicity Passon, she is now Seychelles’ most decorated athlete in the 40-year history of the Games with 11 medals – seven gold, three silver and one bronze – won in the Côte d’Or swimming pool.

Passon’s gold medal came in the 100m backstroke in 1:03.45 (new Games record), 50m butterfly in 28.06 seconds, 50m freestyle in 26.21 seconds (new Games record), 50m backstroke in 29.47 seconds (new Games record), 100m butterfly in 1:00.69, 200m medley in 2:22.22 (new Games record), and 200 metres backstroke in 2:17.35 (new Games record).

Another swimmer, Shrone Austin held the previous record of seven gold, one silver and two bronze medals and she achieved the feat at the 7th Games in Madagascar in 2007.

President Faure has urged all athletes, coaches and sports leaders to start planning early and to train hard for the 11th Games in the Maldives in 2023.