Agony for Kiwi medal hopeful after no throws
Lauren Bruce walked through the mixed zone, wiping away tears as she came to terms with what had just unfolded at Alexander Stadium.
She’d just bombed out of the Commonwealth Games, after failing to register a legitimate throw in the women’s hammer on Thursday night (NZT). There’d been more tears on the field – the result of three nothrows – including one into the net.
Unsurprisingly, the New Zealand women’s record holder was devastated, knowing the 68m distance required to automatically book a spot in tomorrow morning’s final should have been a breeze.
After all, with a personal-best of 74.61m to her name, only one athlete – Canadian Camryn Rogers – in the 17-strong field in Birmingham, which included fellow Kiwi and Commonwealth Games reigning champion Julia Ratcliffe, had thrown further than her. Bruce didn’t even need to clear 68m, not when Rogers and Ratcliffe were the only two to go past 68m, meaning the next best 10 performers advanced to the final.
She essentially just needed to land a half decent attempt. But, after opening her account with a foul and launching her second into the net, the under-pressure 25-year-old’s final attempt sailed wide of the sector.
The Oceania champion and national champion was eliminated.
If that wasn’t galling enough, the fact a 59.53m effort from Malaysian Xei Mei Grace Wong was enough to make the final would have been.
‘‘I’m really gutted not to have Lauren in the final, too. I know she’ll be really disappointed,’’ Ratcliffe said after qualifying second for the final with a 68.73m heave.
Fellow Kiwi Nicole Bradley also booked a spot in the final, courtesy of a 61.77m effort (eighth best).
It was an otherwise successful morning session for Kiwi athletes, with Sam Tanner qualifying for the 1500m final, and Keeley O’Hagan leaping into the women’s high jump decider. Needing a top-five finish in the second of two heats for automatic qualification, Tanner finished strongly in a significantly slower race than the first.
Boxed in and clipped a couple of times, he managed to stay on his feet and kick when it mattered, finishing fifth in 3min 48.65sec.
The day after training partner Hamish Kerr became the first Kiwi man to win a high jump medal (gold) at the Games, O’Hagan’s 1.81m clearance was enough to send her into tonight’s 12-strong final. ‘‘Hamish’s gold definitely inspired me to do the best that I can,’’ O’Hagan said.
Discus thrower Connor Bell finished eighth in the men’s discus final with a best throw of 60.23m – more than seven metres behind Australian winner Matthew Denny – while Portia Bing qualified for tomorrow’s 400m hurdles final after finishing third (56.32sec) in her heat.