Youth Olympic Games

19 August 2010, 9:18AM
Femme

 World champion Jackson Gill is glad the unusual format for athletics competition will give him a few days off before his final at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore today.

 Gill battled some ill-health along with a monsoon-like storm that brought a premature end to the qualifying competition on the fourth day of competition.

With the New Zealander comfortably in second place with a best throw of 21.73m, Gill has opted to sleep in instead of returning to complete his final throw.

“Training has been good but the health has not been great here in recent days. It’s great to have a break now because it gives me a chance to recover,” Gill said.

 

“Usually we would compete in the final on the same day so it’s a bit weird here but I will take it right now,” said Gill with his final scheduled for Sunday.

 

“I would like to throw over 23m here in the final. I’ve been throwing that in training so if I can get the health right that would be the target.”

 

Sailors Elise Beavis and Jack Collinson, both of Auckland, also have a day off tomorrow after a challenging second day of competition in fluky conditions today.

 

After four rounds Collinson lies in ninth place, just behind local hope and double world champion Darren Choy in the junior men’s Byte CII class. After a lengthy weather delay, he was fifth in raced three but got caught in the shifty and light conditions to finish 19th.

 

Beavis is 17th overall on the back of a seventh placing in race three and a disqualification in race four.

 

“The conditions in Singapore are very light and very patchy so it becomes a bit of a lottery,” sailing coach Andrew Wills said. “Even Singapore’s double world champion Darren Choy was 24th in a race today.

 

“You are going to get some big numbers here and in reality the disqualification for Elise did not cost too much because she was 22ndacross the line.”

 

Wills said there is plenty of opportunity to come in the 15-race series with a final medal race.

 

North Shore swimmer Chloe Francis finished a creditable sixth place in the final of the 200m freestyle tonight as she continues her busy schedule in Singapore.

 

She went faster than her heat time to clock 2:03.18 in the final, coming home strongly after turning at the 150m mark in eighth.

 

“I went faster than this morning and while you always want to go faster, I was satisfied with that effort tonight,” Francis said. “This is such an incredible experience and atmosphere both at the pool, around the village and in the city that I think I am starting to come to grips with it now.

 

“I finished well and that gives me some confidence with the 400m freestyle still to come.”

 

The 16-year-old was fifth in the final of the 200m individual medley and the semifinals in the 100m breaststroke.

 

There is some expectation for success tomorrow with gold medallist Aaron Barclay and Maddie Dillon teaming up with Australia in an Oceania team for the relay competition, with each competitor to complete a super-sprint course of 250m swim 6.7km bike and 1.5km run.

 

Talented Pukekohe rider Trent Woodcock, a quarterfinalist at the world championships recently, takes part in his specialist BMX competition with Sarah Kate McDonald in the junior women’s class.

 

Currently New Zealand is in 21st place after three of the seven events that make up the cycling competition following the men’s 3km time trial where New Plymouth’s Denay Cottam finished 12th.
 

The women’s hockey team take on fellow unbeaten side and one of the tournament favourites Netherlands in the evening, while the men’s basketball complete their pool play against winless India although a second loss yesterday has ruled them out of a spot in the quarterfinals.

 

There is further qualifying action in athletics with Hamilton’s Julia Ratcliffe in the hammer throw and Nelson’s Hazel Bowering-Scott in the 200m while Matamata’s Matt Stanley is back in the pool in the heats of the 100m freestyle.

 

Best of the kiwis today was a clear round by Cambridge rider Jake Lambert in the first round of show jumping helping his Australasia team to a share of first place,

 

Day 4 results:

Swimming, 200m freestyle final: Yi Tang (CHN) 1:58.78, 1; Boglarka Kapas (HUN) 2:00.99, 2; Emma McKeon 2:01.18, 3. Also: Chloe Francis (NZL) 2:03.18, 6.

Cycling, 3.1km junior men’s time trial: Rafael Ferreira (POR) 3:56.64, 1; Jay McCarthy (AUS) 3:59.63, 2; Michael Andersen (DEN) 4:00.40, 3. Also: Denay Cottam (NZL) 4:12.12, 12.

Rowing, B Final junior men single sculls: Mark Biro (HUN) 3:28.00, 1; Hayden Cohen (NZL) 3:28.04, 2; Augustin Maillefer (SUI) 3:30.61, 3.

B final junior women pair: New Zealand (Beatrix Heaphy-Hall, Eve McFarlane) 3:38.69, 1; Russia 3:42.14, 2; Bulgaria 3:42.29, 3.

Basketball, round 3 men: Serbia 30 New Zealand 13 (James Ashby 7, Reuben Te Rangi 5, Ben Fraser 1) Halftime: 12-5.

Rowing, Byte CII, girls, race 3: Denmark 1, Germany 2, Brazil 3. Also: Elise Beavis 7. Race 4: Austria1, China 2, Brazil 3. Also: Beavis dsq. Points after 4 races: Austria 16, 1; Germany 23, 2; Denmark 30, 3. New Zealand (Beavis) 58, 17th.

Men, race 3: Spain 1, Bermuda 2, Cuba 3. Also: New Zealand (Jack Collinson) 5. Race 4: China 1, Singapore 2, Hungary 3. Also: Collinson 19. Points after 4 races: Netherlands Antilles 14, 1; Portugal 28, 2; Norway 31, 3. Collinson 44, 9.

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