Discus queen Beatrice Faumuina's biggest fan was sitting in the Manchester rain.
And the 27-year-old did not disappoint, hurling a gold-medal throw into the miserable night.
Her mother, Roini Faumuina, savoured the moment.
"It was good," she said simply.
Yesterday was especially tense because of her daughter's long recovery from a back injury.
But Faumuina's throw of 60.83m gave her the gold by more than 2m, and added to silver and gold medals at the last two Commonwealth Games and a 1997 world title.
Mrs Faumuina settled into her seat in the stadium shortly after 4pm, wearing a black-and-silver uniform to match her girl.
There must have been a bit of "that's my daughter," because by the time Faumuina took the gold nearly four hours later, she had a new fan club.
They were not all New Zealanders, but the people sitting in the three or four rows around Mrs Faumuina erupted in cheers at their new heroine's victory.
And the new fans must have been impressed when Faumuina clambered over barriers to hug her mother.
"I'm proud of you," Mrs Faumuina said. "Congratulations."
Full coverage:
nzherald.co.nz/manchester2002
Medal table
Commonwealth Games info and related links
Athletics: Mother's pride and joy at gold medal
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