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Nothing but emotion! 
As the World Championships in Paris were going to an end, about 12 000 kilometres from France capital, in a small island called Mauritius, were starting the sixth edition of the Indian Ocean Island Games (August 29 to September 7). A kind of mini Olympics composed of thirteen disciplines, including athletics, to which six islands of the Indian Ocean participate: Madagascar, Reunion, Seychelles, Maldives, Comoros and Mauritius. They were more than 5 000 each day to assist to the athletics competition in the newly built Germain Comarmond Stadium in Bambous, in the West coast of the island. One week before, during the World Championships, Eric Milazar and Stéphan Buckland ran the finals of the 400 metres and 200 metres, which provoke a tidal wave of joy in Mauritius. The Mauritian people wanted to see their stars in action, and the Indian Ocean Island Games, was the perfect moment for that. Two days after the end of the World Champs, in a crowded stadium, Stéphan Buckland gave to Mauritius its first gold medal of history in the 100 metres final, by clocking 10.60. An easy race for Buckland as Alexandre Vallon-Hoareau (Reunion Island), who won the 100 metres in the fifth edition in 1998, and David Victoire (Mauritius) completed the podium with 10.93 and 11.03 in that order. A huge noise invades the whole stadium! Everyone is crying from the youngest to the oldest. This is just raw emotion! And Stéphan goes for one lap to salute all those who came especially for him. “You can run anywhere in the world. You can win great titles in gigantic competitions. But you will never have this, a stadium crying for you. I am very touched by this. It’s just great! I have never imagined feeling such emotion here during the Games,” said Stéphan Buckland. Day three, the stadium is still cram-full, and Eric Milazar is running the final of the 400 metres. In an easy manner he wins the event in 45.78 (Games record), as Fernando Augustin (Mauritius) came second with 47.07. The excitement reaches its pinnacle and the stadium reserves a standing ovation for both athletes. “I was astounded to receive such a welcome from the fans. It’s simply marvellous. Even in my dreams, I’ve never though to such a thing,” said Eric Milazar, “After the World Championships, where we ran Stéphan and me the finals, we wanted to share this with the Mauritian people. But we were not expecting this: more than 5 000 people who came to see us running.” Mauritius won the athletics competition with a total of twenty gold medals, as Madagascar followed with seventeen gold and Reunion Island with eleven gold. Reynolds QUIRIN
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