RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesAdam Ramsay-Peaty (left) has been helping mentor Filip Nowacki [Getty Images]
Jersey loves its sport, but success on a world stage for islanders happens rarely.
It was 36 years since the Channel Islands closer to France than England, and better known for its cows and tax-haven status, had won a Commonwealth Games medal.
But that all changed this week when 18-year-old Filip Nowacki won 200m breaststroke gold in Glasgow on Tuesday night, just three evenings after winning silver in the 100m breaststroke at Glasgow 2026.
And while for many it has come as a surprise that the softly spoken and slight teenager looks set to usurp Adam Ramsay-Peaty as Great Britain's leading breaststroker, to those who know him it's a path they almost expected.
"He's executing the tactical and technical details really, really well and handling the psychological load of the arena very well for a young man," his coach Keiron Piper tells BBC Jersey.
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Piper, who leads swimming at Millfield School, has taken Nowacki under his wing since he left his home island to train at the Somerset school's excellent sporting facilities a few years ago.
But having beaten former Olympic champions like Ramsay-Peaty and Australia Zac Stubblety-Cook, Piper feels his Nowacki has shown he is the real deal.
"It's a hard thing to do at any age, when you're in an environment like this with the names that are being thrown around and putting yourself on the line against the very best in the world.
"So for an 18-year-old, it's pretty exceptional. You hear about it in other sports, but they're quite few and far between.
"I think that's a testament to his character. He's calm, he's collected, he's composed, he wants to learn."
'He's got a very bright future' - Peaty
Nowacki has won a third of Jersey's six Commonwealth Games medals [Getty Images]
Ramsay-Peaty has become something of a mentor to Nowacki.
He finished behind him in the 50m and 100m breaststroke at this year's British Championships and joined his AP Race stable - the programme set up to develop the next generation.
And Ramsay-Peaty, who won 100m breaststroke gold at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, as well as silver in 2024, feels Nowacki is "an incredible talent".
"He's got the speed, he's got the middle distance and he's definitely got the endurance," he tells BBC Jersey.
"I'm looking forward to seeing him over the next few years because he's got a very bright future ahead of him if he can keep his head in the right zone, which I'm sure he can."
Compared to many of his rivals Nowacki looks tiny - he is up to 25kg lighter than some competitors and gives away a number of inches in height.
So how does he do it?
"His power to weight ratio is clearly fantastic, and actually in terms of his metrics for his CMJ (Countermovement Jump) and how high he can jump, it's also very, very strong," explains Piper.
"He is very strong for his size and actually it probably works to his advantage, it helps him sit on the water nice and light, it helps his technique to have as much flow as it does.
"He's definitely got a little bit more growing to do, so we'll see how that might have to change his tactics and his stroke going forward, but it's to his advantage I think in some circumstances."
Where does Nowacki rank among Jersey's greats?
Harry Vardon won the US Open in 1900 and was also victorious in six British Opens [Getty Images]
And what of his impact on Jersey sport?
The island has produced top sports people in the past.
Harry Vardon - the first British golfer to win the US Open in 1900 and six-time British Open winner came from the island, while in 1934 Jersey's Dot Macready won diving gold for England.
Colin Campbell ran at two Olympic Games as well as competing in bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics.
Graeme Le Saux and Matt Banahan played for England at World Cups in football and rugby union respectively, while Serena Guthrie captained England at netball and helped the Red Roses beat Australia for a historic Commonwealth Games gold in 2018.
Jersey had won four Commonwealth Games medals in their own right before Nowacki - the last coming in 1990 when Colin Mallett won fullbore shooting gold before teaming up with his father Cliff to win bronze.
So where does he rank in the pantheon of Jersey sporting greats?
"He's right up there," Richard Collinson tells BBC Sport.
The veteran BBC Jersey reporter has covered sport on the island for more than 40 years and also headed up Jersey's Amateur Swimming Association for a spell in the 1980s.
"He's going to continue to achieve even greater things than he has done now, which have already been quite outstanding for an 18-year-old," he added.
"Everybody on the island was hugely excited at Colin and Cliff's achievements in winning medals in Auckland.
"They were given a huge reception when they got home by everyone, not just people in sport but everyone back home, and I expect Filip will get the same."
Nowacki will be 22 at the next Commonwealth Games and is also eyeing up the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
With the talent and ambition that he has, who is to say he could not become Jersey's greatest sportsperson of all time?
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