Mateship reigns as teammate sacrifices shot at medal
IT was the feel-good moment of the Games so far.
A stunningly selfless sacrifice by one of our male gymnasts - and a stroke of bad luck for another - allowed one of their mates a chance at Commonwealth Games glory.
It all began when rising teen star Jesse Moore had to pull out with a niggling shoulder injury. The withdrawal left the door open for teammate Clay Stephens to have another chance to medal in the horizontal bar final as the first reserve.
But Stephens handed his place to teammate Tyson Bull, who was the second reserve after falling in the qualifier. He was expected to crush the appartus after finishing fifth in the final at the Tokyo Olympics.
And Bull made sure the opportunity wasn’t wasted, claiming the silver medal. “Up until last night my mind was completely off the high bar final, I had barely done anything since Friday,” Bull said.
“Clay has the biggest heart in the world. It’s just such a selfless act for him to forfeit his spot for me to have a chance in my pet event. There was no chance I wasn’t making the landing.”
For the Australians, the night was capped off with a stunning birthday gold for the women’s balance beam to Games debutant Kate McDonald.
She blew past her teammate, women’s all-around gold medallist and vault champion Georgia Godwin, and English uneven bars gold medal winner Georgia-Mae Fenton to win.
“It’s an absolute shock. I had some really amazing opponents out there. I went out expecting to have a good routine and have some fun, but I definitely wasn’t expecting a score like that,” McDonald said.
Canberra-born vault finalist James Bacueti won bronze.