Murray raises the VAR
VIDEO REVIEW GRANTS CHRIS EMOTIONAL WIN
CHRIS MURRAY admitted he couldn’t watch his rivals’ dramatic attempts to beat him as he clinched weightlifting gold amid VAR drama.
The Englishman burst into tears when he completed a perfect six lifts to set a Commonwealth Games record of 325kg in the men’s 81kg final.
But Murray had an agonising wait to see if Australia’s Kyle Bruce or Canada’s Nicolas Vachon would beat his tally.
Bruce initially got three green lights for his 183kg attempt but a video review ruled he had bent his left elbow.
Vachon then bizarrely went for 187kg – when he only needed 186kg to beat Murray’s total – but he dropped the bar behind him at the last second.
“I couldn’t watch it,” said Murray. “I had a towel over my head, the earphones in, and had a bit of a cry.
“I couldn’t put myself through it. I was just so happy with the British record and PBs and that was enough for me.
“When my coach told me I’d won gold I broke down again. To win in front of a home crowd is amazing.”
Murray posted 144kg in the snatch before following it up with 181kg in the clean and jerk.
He added: “I came off the platform and just started crying, I was overwhelmed. I hadn’t made six for six for a while.”
Sarah Davies finally struck gold as she shattered the Commonwealth Games record to clinch the 71kg women’s crown.
The Preston powerhouse broke the Commonwealth record in the snatch with a lift of 103kg, then followed it up with 126kg in the clean and jerk to set a new overall tally of 229kg.
Davies had previously won world, European and Commonwealth Games silver but finally topped the podium at a packed NEC last night.