Relief as Waddell grabs gold

The relief was palpable for New Zealanders on both sides of the Tasman, as Rob Waddell sculled down a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics on Saturday.

The first week of the Games has been frustrating for New Zealand Olympians and sports fans alike. After seven days of competition, Mark Todd salvaged a bronze medal out of a jinxed campaign in team and individual three-day events to put New Zealand on the medal board.

A bronze was not enough to stop the Ocker Mockers, but perhaps the jokes - on Australian TV on Friday night and in their papers on Saturday morning - may wane now that Waddell has a gold medal. Another medal is also in the bag for boardsailor Barbara Kendall and some of her fellow sailors are well-placed to mount the rostrum next week.

However, New Zealand Olympic chef de mission Les Mills said on Saturday that medals don't actually affect the team's morale or take any pressure off them.

If some other New Zealand athletes have battled to make an impact at these Games, they can look to Waddell as a role model on what it takes to get to the top.

Finishing seventh in the single sculls final at Atlanta, he has toiled harder than his opponents, overcome a heart condition scare and left nothing to chance in his competition preparations.

Trailing his great rival Xeno Mueller until 500m from the finish, Waddell upped his stroke rate and Mueller could not stay with him.

Waddell managed to shut out all outside pressure from his mind before the race.

``I wanted to win that race because I knew how fast I could go, a very close second to that is doing it for New Zealand,'' he said.

His wife Sonia was disappointed with her own sixth place in the earlier women's single sculls, but she was able to share in his joy.

``I feel great for Rob, he's tried really hard and he deserves it,'' she said.

New Zealand's hopes of another rowing medal sank when the coxless four slipped out the back door as the crack British crew poured on the power early and held on to win.

While Waddell's gold medal perked up many a New Zealander, Mills said the overall team's morale ``always has been high and it didn't need boosting.

``We all think it's a fantastic result and we're super-proud of Rob's terrific win and Mark's third yesterday, but the morale is great. Things like that actually make little difference to the morale, because each sport has its total dedicated focus.''

Mills said Waddell was an ``amazing'' role model for New Zealanders.

``He has a fine physique, he has a great attitude, he works hard. He's got all the chemistry that makes a wonderful Olympic champion. He's a super athlete.''

Mills also didn't accept that winning a couple of medals would take any pressure off the New Zealand team.

``The pressure is on the whole time to be the best we can be,'' he said.

``If we get four or five swimmers coming in with personal bests, that's great, and if we get our hockey team coming in and Barbara Kendall ... we've got so many good things going on. No, we don't feel that pressure.

``That's pressure that the media build up ... and we don't even see that because we are really out of that loop. Our pressure is internal.''

- NZPA