MELBOURNE, 22 March 2006 — Australia’s men breathed a sigh of relief after finally winning a swimming gold medal at the Commonwealth Games yesterday but Dean Macey did not know whether to laugh or cry after his decathlon victory.
The Englishman Macey seems to have suffered just about every ailment in the medical book over the last seven years but at last his body held out long enough to do justice to his talent and earn him a first major title.
“I have really earned my stripes, this has been such a long time coming and I feel I’m the man,” Macey said, who wept with pride — and relief — in his father’s arms after holding off Jamaica’s Maurice Smith.
Australia’s male swimmers, even without the sick Ian Thorpe and the injured Grant Hackett (shoulder), were expected to endure none of the big event disappointment, which thus far had been the watchword of Macey’s career.
Until last night, though, one of the sport’s leading superpowers had for once to settle for second best and worse, British swimmers, coached by a former Australian coach Bill Sweetenham, were coming out tops.
The 4x100m medley relay team stopped the rot but it will still be a source of some embarrassment that no Australian man was able to claim an individual gold in front of a home crowd.
Even the 1500m freestyle, a title they have held for 48 years, slipped from their grasp as Welshman David Davies grabbed his country’s first swimming gold for 32 years.
World record holder Hackett could only watch helplessly from the stands.
At least the Australian women delivered, underlining their domination with a world record in the 4x100 medley relay, their 16th gold in the 19 able-bodied events.
The quartet of Sophie Edington, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper and Libby Lenton, who had already won more medals between them than most countries at the games, steamed to victory, slashing a second off the previous record.
“We’re the girls’ version of the awesome foursome,” Jones, who finished with four golds and shattered her own 100m breaststroke world record 24 hours earlier, said.
Lenton finished with five golds and two silvers, matching Thorpe’s overall total from the 2002 Manchester Games.
Macey’s gold helped England consolidate second place in the medals table with 21, and while his was probably the most emotional of that haul, Christine Ohuruogu’s was the most surprising. The former England junior netball international produced a stunning run to score the biggest track upset of the games, coming from behind to beat Jamaica’s Novlene Williams. Williams, who had won world and Olympic titles, only needed to add the Commonwealth to emulate Cathy Freeman’s golden treble.
Lisa Dobriskey completed an English hat trick when she produced a late surge to finish ahead of Australian Sarah Jamieson and Hayley Tullett of Wales in the 1500m.
Despite Smith near miss in the decathlon, Jamaica could still celebrate another golden double after Maurice Wignall won the 110m hurdles and Trecia Smith bounded to victory in the triple jump. The previous day Asafa Powell and Sheri-Ann Brooks had won the blue-riband 100m sprints.
Canada enjoyed their best day of the games. They won their first swimming gold since 1998 when Michael Brown won a desperately close 200m breaststroke, then picked up three golds on the final night of gymnastics.
Australia won both road cycling time-trials yesterday, with Nathan O’Neill pedaling furiously to victory in the men’s event and Oenone Wood taking the women’s after New Zealand’s pre-race favorite Sarah Ulmer pulled out because of a back injury.
Australia finished the day with another 11 gold medals, raising their overall tally to 53 after six days of competition and on course to eclipse their best ever haul of 88. The absence of England’s injured distance runner Paula Radcliffe left the 10,000m at the mercy of the Kenyans with Lucy Wangui taking the gold from her teammate Evelyne Wambui.
Aussies in Semis; Malaysia, Pakistan Gear for Key Battle
Olympic champions Australia entered the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games men’s field hockey with a 5-1 rout of England yesterday.
The third consecutive win for the Kookaburras in Group A, led by Nathan Eglington’s hat trick, made the hosts the first team in the 10-nation competition to qualify for the knockout stage.
England, who are level with New Zealand on six points, could still take the other semifinal place from the group with a draw against winless Canada today if Australia defeat New Zealand as expected.
The scramble for semifinal spots in Group B turned serious as Malaysia stunned South Africa 2-1 and Pakistan outplayed Trinidad 7-1 in yesterday’s other matches.
Malaysia and Pakistan, with seven points each, clash in their last league match today with the winner assured of topping the group and escaping a semifinal clash against Australia.
India and South Africa, who have four points each and play each other today, will also fancy their chances of going through as the second team if they win. Only a draw between Malaysia and Pakistan will push both teams through and leave India and South Africa in the lurch.
Pakistan scored six goals in the first-half against lowly Trinidad, but managed just one in the second.
Rehan Butt bagged a hat trick in the first half and there were more goals from Shakeel Abbasi, Mohammad Shabbir, Mohammad Imran and Zubair Mohammad.
Trinidad ended the league without a point, conceding 31 goals in four games and scoring only three.
