Lewis Clareburt celebrates winning gold in the men's 200m butterfly. PHOTOS: REUTERS
Favourite moment
Hayden Meikle: Any time Lewis Clareburt was in the pool. We have had some solid swimmers since the immortal Danyon Loader performed miracles in 1996 — but only now do we dare dream we might have another Olympic champion in the making. The man is pure class.
Adrian Seconi: Aaron Gate should have been utterly depleted given the week or so he’d had. But fresh from winning three gold medals, he still had the reserves left to sprint the final 200m of the men’s road race and claim his fourth gold. He powered through the middle of what was left of a strong field, too.
Jeff Cheshire: Hamish Kerr has long been a class act and has begun to show his ability on the world stage over the past year. After a disappointing world championships, the Kiwi high jumper bounced back in emphatic style with a leap of 2.28m to claim gold over defending champion Brandon Starc.
Pleasant surprise
Meikle: The judo team. No golds, but silver (for big Kody Andrews) and a couple of bronze medals represented a decent return for an unheralded bunch in a sport that, well, most of us know nothing about.
Seconi: We knew Ellesse Andrews was good after her silver in Tokyo. But she must have jets in her pedals. Three gold medals and a paper silver medal. The 22-year-old will be in her prime at the Paris Olympics.
Cheshire: The White Ferns certainly had their not-so-flash, or downright awful, moments in Birmingham. But beating England at home in a medal match, just days after England had thrashed them, was an exceptional effort.
Disappointment
Meikle: The Black Ferns Sevens. Anything less than gold represents a bit of a failure for a team that has set the standard for so long.
Seconi: We were denied a sprint finish between New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde and England’s Alex Yee in the triathlon. Wilde was sent to the penalty box instead. An eagle-eyed official had spotted an infringement earlier in the race. Video footage suggests the official got it horribly wrong. The box-tickers are spending the next month chewing over their options before making a ruling. Oh, and Andrews was denied her silver medal and fined for not attending the team pursuit medal ceremony. She was busy fluffing about helping the Kiwis win gold in the team sprint instead.
Cheshire: It was impossible not to feel Lauren Bruce’s pain as she walked away after her final attempt in the women’s hammer. The national record holder and potential gold medallist was out after three no throws in qualifying.
