Clareburt’s gold medal symbol of Kiwis’ resurgence in pool Milestones notched by Fairweather
A New Zealand swim team which has long struggled for breath suddenly appears capable of riding a wave of positivity all the way to Paris.
Lewis Clareburt is the face of the resurgence, producing a recordbreaking performance to claim gold in the 400m individual medley yesterday, but several teammates seem capable of following in his wake.
No Kiwi swimmer has won an Olympic medal of any colour since Danyon Loader’s famed double gold in 1996.
With Clareburt leading the way, however, that drought seems sure to soon be broken.
The 23yearold already ended one dry spell in Birmingham, becoming the first Kiwi man to win Commonwealth Games gold since Moss Burmester in 2006.
But his Gamesrecord effort is less a culmination of early potential than a promise of the future, for him and the group he leads, this week at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre and in meets around the world to come.
A team which has in the past been the subject of derision is
DUNEDIN swimmer Erika Fairweather has ticked off a couple of early milestones as she aims to finish her week in Birmingham on a podium.
Fairweather, the Tokyo Olympics 400m freestyle finalist, made her Commonwealth Games debut in England on Friday night. She finished second in her heat of the 200m freestyle in 1min 58.18sec.
Fairweather (18) followed up with a fine time of 1min 57.08sec to finish fifth in the final, less than 1sec off bronze.
now spurring one another to success.
‘‘It’s just awesome to see the team doing so well,’’ Clareburt said.
‘‘We’re in such a good space right now and I think the ball’s rolling for the rest of the comp.
‘‘It started yesterday and it just kept getting better and better.’’
The previous day, the one New
It was a personalbest time and an
Otago open record, and it broke her own
New Zealand and Otago agegroup records she set at the world championships last month.
Australian star Ariarne Titmus won 200m freestyle gold in 1min 53.89sec, a Commonwealth Games record.
It appears Fairweather has
Zealand swimmer who has been the exception to the rule in recent years picked up yet another prize.
But as Sophie Pascoe considers retirement, just about content with 19 Paralympic medals and five Commonwealth Games golds, a new crop is emerging.
Last year in Tokyo, Erika Fairweather broke a national record just one more event in Birmingham. She had qualified for the 100m freestyle, starting tomorrow night, but is not listed among the starters, indicating she has decided to give it a miss.
That will give Fairweather an extra opportunity to freshen for her favoured 400m freestyle.
She is in heat three of that event alongside Kiwi teammate Eve Thomas and Canadian star Summer McIntosh.
The heats of the 400m freestyle are on Wednesday night, and the final starts at 7.48am on Thursday.
in the 400m freestyle and reached an Olympic final while still at high school.
In Birmingham yesterday, 23yearold Andrew Jeffcoat fell 0.07sec short of the podium in the 100m backstroke final.
And to start a special evening for the Kiwis, teenager Cameron Gray shocked even himself by finishing third in the 50m butterfly final, reminding Clareburt of his own breakthrough bronze on the Gold Coast.
‘‘I feel like that was me four years ago,’’ Clareburt said.
‘‘He was the guy in lane one, the 18yearold — that was me.
‘‘I saw myself flash in him and it’s just an immense amount of pride in him and what he was able to achieve.
‘‘I had to hold back the tears before I raced, and you could see in the emotion when he was standing here how cool it was for the team.’’
Indeed, Gray was mobbed by his teammates after speaking to media in the mixed zone, wrapped in a flag and a hug by Pascoe, who has embraced her role as the ‘‘camp mum’’ of the group.
Clareburt is without doubt the golden child, going from an anonymous late addition in 2018 to the man to beat in 2022.
His triumphant time of 4min 08.70sec would have been good enough for top spot on the podium in Tokyo and, with two years to find further gains before Paris, Loader may soon no longer be the sole Kiwi swimmer to own Olympic gold.
‘‘I grew up watching the flag being risen at big competitions when someone wins a medal,’’ Clareburt said.
‘‘I always said I would sing the national anthem at the top of my lungs if I ever got a gold medal, and I was pretty proud at that moment.
‘‘I don’t usually shed a tear, but for it all to come together at once and to put together a good time and get that gold medal, it was pretty special.’’
On Saturday, Pascoe won New Zealand’s first medal in the pool.
Competing in the S9 100m freestyle, her only event in Birmingham, Pascoe stopped the clock in 1min 2.95sec to beat Australian Emily Beecroft by 0.79sec. —