2022 Commonwealth Games Diary by Gary Francis "Gaz" - Competition Day Four
Competition Day Three
Hi Everyone
After the highs of the third night of competition, day 4 threatened to be a very tough day. We only had three swimmers racing in just two events. There was a distinct lack of atmosphere in the Team Holding area in the morning – many teams are already finished and today’s events included the women’s 800 freestyle, 200 IM and 200 Backstroke. These events only attract the really strong nations so many of the smaller nations just didn’t show up making the room seem twice as big as normal. Neither Eve nor Mya really found their rhythm in the 200IM although Mya was only 0.1 outside her entry time in 2:16.03, but neither athlete progressed to the final. Fortunately for Helena she still had the 50 Butterfly final to look forward to later in the day. The only other swim was Eve in the 800 freestyle heat. The top 4 swimmers in this event could easily be the middle lanes of a World Championship final, but the depth of field is weak so Eve coasted through in a very comfortable 8:39.01 to qualify 3rd for what could be one of the most exciting finals of the week to be held tomorrow night.
So, possibly for the first time in the whole week we probably didn’t ‘win the session’. But with two swimmers already in the finals it was important to bounce back as quickly as possible.
Andrew Jeffcoat had been dreadfully disappointed two nights before, with his 4th place in the 100 back and desperately wanted revenge. In the semi-final he had roared back in the public eye with a new NZ Record of 24.82, lowering his PB by just 0.01 of a second! Then in the final Andrew swam a brilliant race, leading from gun to wall to touch first in another NZ record, 24.65 to give our team its 5th gold medal!
Helena had also PB’d in the semi-final to reach the final. An athlete who has suffered terribly from pre-race anxiety throughout her career she seemed a different swimmer tonight, staying relaxed and chatty and really seemed to be looking forward to racing. And race she did, looking right in contention for a medal right up to about 6-7 metres to go. Her final 7th place didn’t really do her swim justice, but her consolation was a new NZ Record time of 26.24.
Only two swims, but we definitely won the session! The records keep tumbling and the medal tally keeps climbing. These swimmers are putting on an excellent show for everyone. Their performances coupled with poise and respect in front of the TV cameras all goes to add to the attraction of this team.
Day 1 again tomorrow….another big ask to get the athletes to raise their bar again.
Results from Day Four evening session:
Andrew 50 Backstroke 24.65 PB, NZ record, Gold Medal
Helena 50 Butterfly 26.24 PB, NZ record, 7th place
Day Five Athlete Heat Schedule
Andrew Jeffcoat
Men's 200m Backstroke Tuesday 2nd August - 9:30pm
Cameron Gray
Men's 50m Freestyle Tuesday 2nd August - 9:51pm
Hazel Ouwehand
Women's 50m Backstroke Tuesday 2nd August - 10:08pm
Watch Live
All of the heats and finals sessions are available to watch live via Sky Sport:
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