New Zealand yesterday basked in “amazing” athletics glory after winning two gold medals in as many days at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Geordie Beamish on Monday claimed New Zealand’s first track gold in history with a shock victory in the 3,000m steeplechase, while high jumper Hamish Kerr followed with gold on Tuesday to make it an unprecedented double success for a country much better known for rugby than its prowess in track and field.
Before this week, the country had won only six golds in total at the championships.
Photo: Reuters
Yesterday morning New Zealand were in the giddy position of fourth on the overall medals table — boasting one-third of the gold medals won by the US with just 1.5 percent of the population.
Athletics New Zealand chief executive Cam Mitchell said the results were “incredible,” especially after Beamish fell to the track in the heats before recovering.
“The story with Geordie has been pretty amazing, falling over, getting spiked in the face, getting back up and then getting through and winning the final in the way that he did was pretty special,” Mitchell said. “And then for Hamish to top it all off, just amazing.”
New Zealand’s former 1,500m Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis watched Beamish’s win from Detroit’s airport after a delayed flight, and fellow passengers were bemused at his celebrations.
“It was so epic to watch. I was stuck on the tarmac ... and I thought we were going to take off and I wouldn’t see the last two laps, but our flight was delayed and I got to see Geordie make his way up,” he told the New Zealand Herald.
Athletics in New Zealand receives modest government funding of NZ$3.7 million (US$2.1 million) annually, but the sport has delivered over the past year.
Kerr also won gold at the Paris Olympics last year, where shot putter Maddi Wesche took silver.
“There’s a lot of support for a country like ours, and people love underdog stories,” Mitchell said.
In the Japanese capital, Kerr said Beamish’s triumph a day earlier had spurred him on.
“He gave me a kick in my ass after his win last night so I had to win, too,” Kerr joked.
The heroic pair won world indoor titles on the same day last year — and they did the same a decade earlier, too.
In the small city of Whanganui, Beamish and Kerr competed in a 2014 national high-school event at Cooks Gardens.
A famous venue in New Zealand, it pales in comparison to the 37,000-seater Tokyo crowd at the world championships, but is a rite of passage for Kiwi athletes.
On that day, in an event sponsored by the local golf club, Kerr won high jump gold and Beamish — who then went by George — won the Mars Petcare 3,000m race.
“It’s really kind of cool to share our best moments together,” Kerr said.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danish qualifier Elmer Moller at the Madrid Open on Sunday. The world leader extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October. Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against
When Paddy Dwyer arrived in China in 1976, crowds jostled to catch a glimpse of him and his companions — the first Western soccer team to play in the country. China was emerging from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, and on the brink of market reforms that would take the country from economic stagnation to explosive growth. “All we could see was lines of people running beside our bus, trying to look in the windows, to see their first visual of a white person,” he said. “It was all bicycles,” he said. “There were very few cars to be seen.” Dwyer,
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
RSS