THE GREAT INDOORS
Duo set gold standard for NZ, and in an Olympic year too
Geordie Beamish, the man with more kick than an angry mule, says he was inspired by Hamish Kerr’s high jump heroics earlier as he applied the finishing flourish to one of the great days in New Zealand athletics history in Glasgow.
Kerr and Beamish produced a stunning double gold medal triumph on the final day of the world indoor athletics championships yesterday to make it the most successful Kiwi haul from a global meet. Kerr’s dominant high jump gold and Beamish’s seismic upset in the men’s 1500 metres brought to four the medal tally for the event, on the back of silvers for Eliza McCartney (pole vault) and Tom Walsh’s (shot put).
The 10-strong Kiwi team stormed to third place overall on the medal standings, behind only the United States and Belgium.
Kerr started it in the final event of the day session, smashing his own New Zealand record, equalling the Oceania mark and setting a world best for 2024 with a magnificent leap of 2.36 metres that left the field in his dust. American Shelby McEwen and Korea’s Woo Sang-hyeok were 8cm back in the minor placings.
It was a result that puts the 27-yearold Christchurch-domiciled Aucklander among the cast-iron contenders for medals at the Paris Olympics this year.
Just a few hours later, Beamish produced another of those classic Kiwi dark horse performances on the track to steal an improbable victory in the 1500m. It adds a fresh chapter to the annals of achievement written by the likes of Sir Murray Halberg, Sir Peter Snell, Sir John Walker and, more recently, Nick Willis.
The 27-year-old Colorado-based athlete told Stuff from Glasgow he had been inspired to chase his own slice of history by Kerr’s high-flying feats earlier. “That was just incredible,” he said. “We roomed together in Serbia a couple of years ago when he won bronze, and to see him come back two years later and back that up with gold was so inspiring.
“It’s ridiculous to think we finished third on the medal table. I hope we’re putting track and field back on the map in New Zealand.”
Beamish conceded he was still struggling to accept he was a world champion
“I hope we’re putting track and field back on the map in New Zealand.”
Geordie Beamish
as he stormed through, in 3min 36.54sec, with his trademark late kick and a 26.11sec final lap to haul in Americans Cole Hocker (3:36.69) and Walker Kessler (3:36.72).
“I thought in that last lap or two maybe I had an outside show at a medal if my legs held up. Halfway through that last lap I thought any medal would be incredible … then in the last 10-15 metres a little bit of belief started to come in. I was just in total shock crossing the line. I hope it brings a huge amount of belief and joy to runners in New Zealand, and feels like you don’t have to necessarily be a favourite, or even necessarily call it your own event. Shivers, anything is possible.”
Kerr used several visits to the toilet over the final stages of the high jump to settle his nerves as he too delivered a statement performance that suddenly makes Paris all kinds of interesting.
Kerr produced a near faultless performance, knocking off first-time clearances at 2.15, 2.20, 2.24, 2.28 and 2.31 to wrap up the gold medal with an attempt still up his sleeve. He then knocked off a careerbest 2.36m at his final crack to put the exclamation point on a dominant show.
“It was just about trying to calm the nerves and focus on my own thing which got a little tougher near the end,” he said. “I had to take myself away to the bathroom a couple of times and just kinda sit there and breathe for a little bit. It was awesome to get it done.”
He described the “stoke level” of finishing with a 2.36 clearance, as opposed to 2.31, as on another echelon. “
Eight of the 10-strong team in Glasgow will return for the national championships in Wellington (March 14-17). Beamish and fellow 1500m athlete Maia Ramsden have exemptions to remain at their US bases