Tower of Terror awaits
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
DIVING: A significant drop in wind speed is likely to be enough to prevent disaster on the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre’s “Tower of Terror” as athletes are put under the spotlight in night competition at the open-air venue.
Diving starts today, when those on the 10m platform will face conditions some of Australia’s best have labelled “scary”.
But a change in the weather may be a blessing for competitors, who will face occasional gusts up to 40km/h but should escape the rain squalls and consistent blustery conditions that have been plaguing the Coast.
Gusts up to 70km/h were recorded last week and while there was a stiff breeze yesterday, Weatherzone forecaster Brett Dutschke said conditions were expected to ease today and into the weekend.
Some competitors, including the Gold Coast’s Olympic silver medallist Brittany Broben and current Australian team member SWIMMING: Australia’s head swimming coach, Jacco Verhaeren, says Cameron McEvoy has to “head back to the drawing board” as he attempts to rediscover the form that made him the world’s fastest sprinter.
Verhaeren said McEvoy needed to make changes in the wake of his 100m performance on the Gold Coast, but the coach had no concerns the 23-year-old was a “lost case”.
McEvoy holds the world’s fastest time GYMNASTICS: Australia’s gymnasts are on track to earn Olympic redemption after a golden finish to the Commonwealth Games, national coach Mihai Brestyan says.
The home nation shone brightly in Monday’s individual apparatus finals with Alexandra Eade (pictured) claiming surprise gold on the floor hours after pocket rocket Chris Remkes took out the men’s vault final.
It added to silver medals for Georgia Godwin (all-around) and Georgia-Rose Brown (beam), and bronze for Australia’s women in the team event.
Brestyan, who oversees the women’s team, hailed the result as a triumph for a nation that failed to win a single gold medal at the Glasgow Games in 2014 and missed team qualification at in a textile suit, a 47.04sec swim at the Olympic trials in 2016.
He failed to go close to that effort in Rio, fading in the final as Kyle Chalmers swamped the field to win a shock Olympic gold, and McEvoy has struggled at these Games, just missing a medal in the 100m.
Verhaeren did not believe McEvoy had wilted under pressure, but encouraged the Gold Coaster to examine his approach. the Rio Olympics.
The US-based coach has been forthright about the vast improvement needed for Australia’s gymnasts to compete with the world’s best and ensure they’re part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“We already start planning for that and thinking about that because that’s the ultimate goal, to qualify the team for the Olympic Games,” Brestyan said.
“We are happy with this result but it’s just one step in this moment to show and to prove we can do better.”
— Michael Ramsey Brittany O’Brien, have described the platform at the venue adjacent to the Southport Broadwater as “scary”, especially with divers performing at night during the Games.
But Channel 7 commentator and Olympic gold medallist Matthew Mitcham, who has competed at the venue, said all divers knew the pool was outdoors and would have trained with this in mind.
“All of the divers that have gotten to the Commonwealth Games are pretty competent,” Mitcham said.
“And everyone at an international level would have some experience NETBALL: The high ponytail flick – Laura Geitz has used it before.
And the Diamonds’ comeback queen may be forced to delve into the not-so-dark arts of defence again when Australia takes on Jamaica tonight.
Geitz will go toe to toe with her Queensland Firebirds teammate and good friend, Jamaican goalshooter Romelda Aiken, at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in what will be Australia’s toughest pool match.
The two netball superstars first crossed paths at the World Youth Championships in the US in 2005 when a raw Geitz was at a loss on how to contain the towering Jamaican.
Firebirds coach and current Diamonds assistant coach in outdoor diving.
“It is a trade-off between the benefits of an outdoor pool bringing wonderful scenes and a beautiful backdrop, but it does add extra variables that the athletes need to consider, like rain and wind.”
Several training camps have been held on the Gold Coast in the lead-up to the Games to allow the Australians to become accustomed to the challenges of diving outdoors and at night.
And while athletes from several Commonwealth nations have taken part in the FINA diving grand prix meets on the Gold Coast in the lead-up to the HUGE JOB AHEAD: Laura Geitz . Roselee Jencke was on the Australian youth team staff at the time and passed on some lastresort advice.
“It was the first time that Jamaica had introduced Romelda to the world,” Geitz said.
“It was the semi-final and Rose must have seen me looking at Romelda and thinking, ‘How on earth do you stop her?’ Games, there will be divers tackling the notorious venue’s challenges for the first time this week.
Melissa Wu will start her fourth Commonwealth Games campaign today in the 10m synchronised event with Teju Williamson and her strategy is to commit to the job and ignore the weather.
“It is what it is and everyone’s in the same boat,” she said.
“You’ve just got to commit to it and when you stand there and commit to it and you go for it, you’re not really focusing on the conditions, you’re focusing on the job at hand and being able to perform the dive the best you can.”
“She said when all else fails make sure you put your hair in a high ponytail on top of your head, get in front of her, jump around and hope it all goes well.”
Geitz says the ponytail flick will not be enough to stop Aiken and Sunshine Girls captain Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, who have been sharing the goal-shooting duties for the in-form Jamaica.
The Diamonds are on high alert for their last pool match before Saturday’s semi-finals, with Jamaica beating New Zealand twice before the Games and bringing momentum with them to the Gold Coast.
“Jamaica are a huge threat. They’ve flown under the radar a little bit over the last four years ... they are a massive threat,” Geitz said. — Greg Davis Australia’s Emma Cox and Gaye Shale will be going for gold in the women’s double trap finals this morning while multiple Commonwealth Games gold medallist David Repacholi leads the charge in men’s 50m pistol qualification and James Willett is the solo Australian in the men’s double trap. Rio Olympic bronze medallists Anabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney face a tough battle against Canadians Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu and Jennifer Abel, medallists at last year’s world championships. The Aussies have the advantage of having worked together at this pool before. After some one-sided preliminary rounds and quarterfinals, the serious stuff gets under way on Coolangatta Beach. Aussie pair Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy are in dominant form and will take on Vanuatu at 7.30pm. A cracking Pool A top-of-thetable clash between transTasman rivals at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre. The Kookaburras have scored 10 goals and conceded just one in their first two pool games while the Black Sticks have also been prolific with a for-and-against of 17-4 in three matches. Riley Day, Maddie Coates and Larissa Pasternatsky all need to run at their best to make the final. Queenslander Henry Frayne rocketed into gold medal reckoning after breaking the Games record in qualifying yesterday. The Diamonds face their toughest test of the pool games when they take on the in-form ‘Sunshine Girls’.
Coach plotting a course to Tokyo Shooting: Women’s Double Trap Finals (10.30am) and Men’s Double Trap Finals (3.45pm) Diving: Women’s Synchronised 3m Springboard Final, 12.07pm Beach Volleyball: Men’s Semi-finals (from 4pm) and Women’s Semi-finals (from 7.30pm) Hockey: Men’s Pool Match, Australia v New Zealand, 4.30pm Athletics: Women’s 200m Semi-final, 8.10pm Athletics: Men’s Long Jump Final, 8.32pm Netball: Pool Match, Australia v Jamaica, 9.02pm Gun Aussie fails to fire in final
SHOOTING: Australia’s James Daly has missed a Commonwealth Games medal in the 50m rifle prone despite qualifying in first position for yesterday’s final.
The two-time Australian champion finished sixth in the final at the Belmont Shooting Complex in Brisbane. British shooters claimed all three places on the podium.
Celebrating his 41st birthday, David Phelps of Wales won with a score of 248.8, a new Games record, ahead of Scotland’s Neil Stirton and Englishman Kenneth Parr.
Daly, from the Victorian regional city of Bendigo, posted 620.5 in the qualifying but was unable to replicate his form in the final. — AAP