RICKY WILSON/STUFF
Sally Prendergast went through every emotion under the sun as she nervously watched her daughter race for Olympic gold. He said the win was amazing after all the work she has done in the past. “It makes it all worth it.” Gowler and Prendergast had been favourites for the event and Brent had been quietly confident of the pair winning gold. But he said it was the Olympics and anything could happen. “Sport at that level doesn t come without some sort of drama and politics. It s quite nice we can pop out on top of it.”
Naomi Baker/Getty Images
Sunday, 25 July 2021, 4:22 pm
Clareburt
on Fire in 400m Individual Medley
Wellingtonian
swimmer Lewis Clareburt set the Tokyo Olympic pool abuzz
tonight with a sizzling personal best in his 400m individual
medley heat.
Clareburt recorded 4min 09.49s to qualify
second fastest for tomorrow’s final behind Australian
Brendan Smith (4min 09.27s) for the final.
Clareburt
recently broke his personal record by more than two seconds
when he swam 4min 09.87s at the national championships. To
go so much faster again and in a heat at that, emphasises
his ability.
Afterwards Clareburt rated his
performance at just 2 out of 10, explaining he feels he has
Double duty for New Zealand rowing duo on same day at Tokyo Olympics stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New Zealand will be desperate to win their eights heat, with only the first boat advancing directly to the final on Friday, with the other crews having to contest a repechage during the week – an extra race the star Kiwi duo won’t want on an already taxing programme. The NZ eight is drawn in the first heat along with Canada, China and Great Britain. The other heat consists of just three boats – Australia, Romania and the United States.
STUFF
The pressure is on for the rowing squad to deliver more success. The change in schedule also forced Hamish Bond to pass his flagbearer duties for Friday night’s opening to boxer David Nyika, with the dual Olympic gold medallist part of the men’s eight.