Commonwealth Games: NZ's top medal prospects

By DAVID LEGGATT and CHRIS RATTUE

It's the great guessing game before every Commonwealth or Olympic Games.

How many medals will New Zealand collect?

The numbers have fluctuated since Hamilton, Ontario, in 1930 when New Zealand won nine from 22 athletes.

The two occasions on which Auckland has hosted the Games - 1950 and 1990 - produced 52 and 58 medals respectively, and are the biggest successes in terms of medal hauls.

Going into these Games, 1669 New Zealanders have competed at a Games, winning 450 medals.

Who should we look to for medal success this time?

ATHLETICS

A decent cluster of medal chances at the spanking new Manchester Stadium.

Top of the list of contenders for gold will be walker Craig Barrett, who was so close four years ago before getting the staggers, and 18th at the Sydney Olympics, and former world champion discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina, who is rediscovering strong form at the right time.

One to keep an eye out for is the immensely talented Valerie Adams in the shotput.

She will win medals, it's just a question of when.

BADMINTON

New Zealand have picked up a bronze medal at five of the last six Games - in the men's team and women's doubles events in Kuala Lumpur four years ago - so expectations are for at least one medal this time.

Doubles pair Tammy Jenkins and Rhona Robertson will be chasing back-to-back medals, have been to two Olympics and will be setting their sights a notch higher than the bronze they won in Kuala Lumpur.

Sara Runesten Petersen and Dan Shirley were ranked 12th in the world in mixed doubles last year. Runesten Petersen and Nicole Gordon were 19th, so failure to pick up some hardware would be a disappointment.

BOXING

Kahukura Bentson, Shane Cameron, Daniel Codling and Daniel Headifen are all Oceania gold medal-winners, but this is a different level.

New Zealand have traditionally struggled to score medals in boxing, and the ones they do get are usually bronze, although there are notable exceptions such as Jimmy Peau and Michael Kenny.

The contender could be Feilding heavyweight Cameron, who took up boxing while living in England, was apparently touted for the English team, and is the first heavyweight to win the Jameson Belt for best technical fighter at the national championships.

Boxing is notoriously fickle, but the Kiwi prospects don't look great.

BOWLS

Bowls was a major disappointment four years ago, with Millie Khan's bronze the only success. It is a notoriously hard sport to predict, with upsets commonplace.

Knowledge of local conditions often plays a major part, so the British bowlers will be difficult to overcome. New Zealand and Australian players are used to fast greens, and some of our bowlers have been practising on a specially laid slow green in Auckland.

Rowan Brassey, Peter Belliss and Co are decent medal prospects, but bowls could just as easily be a let-down.

CYCLING

All eyes will be on Sarah Ulmer, who won the individual pursuit and the points silver at Kuala Lumpur, after taking the pursuit bronze in Victoria four years earlier.

Ulmer, who will also tackle the road race, overcame illness to finish fourth in the pursuit at the Sydney Olympics and looks a shots-eye for at least one medal in Manchester, with every chance of striking gold.

Cycling is one of New Zealand's most successful Commonwealth Games sports and should provide more medals through the likes of the team pursuiters.

GYMNASTICS

It is 12 years since Nikki Jenkins won hometown hearts with her unexpected gold medal win on the vault. New Zealand have picked up a medal at both subsequent Games.

This time there is an artistic team: Aucklanders Alethea Boon, Kate Brocklehurst, just 15 and the youngest member of the New Zealand team, Belinda Castles and Nicki Wells, Garrick Rowe on the floor and vault, and Daniel Good in the individual allround event.

With the exception of Boon, all are attending their first Games. Don't hold your breath for glory.

HOCKEY

Strong medal chances in the women's event, outsiders' for the men's.

The women's team are seeded second behind Australia and face games against England, India and Canada.

They are a team in transition, but provided they get past the awkward English, they are a strong chance. Won the bronze at the inaugural Games hockey tournament, in Kuala Lumpur.

The men are up against Australia - who won both golds four years ago - Barbados and South Africa and will settle for making the semifinals and take it from there. They are seeded fourth, behind Australia, Pakistan and England.

The format has the pool winners progressing to the semifinals, with the second and third-placed countries playing crossover playoffs to find the other two semifinalists.

JUDO

A team of six, with a three-three split. With two silvers and two bronze medals, a total of five does not suggest a sport where our hopes should be high.

However, London-based Tim Slyfield, who competed at the Sydney Olympics, and Auckland's Nellie Stallworthy, who has good lead-up form in her under-70kg division, will be a chance.

NETBALL

Must be eyeing gold. New Zealand are grouped with Canada, Sri Lanka, England and Wales. The top two in each pool make the semifinals.

New Zealand will get a decent workout from England, before facing, almost certainly, Jamaica, in an awkward semifinal.

Australia will almost certainly dispose of England in the other semifinal match, clearing the way for a transtasman showdown.

RUGBY

The New Zealand public will demand the gold medal here again and the team should deliver.

Rushie's Runners include captain Eric Rush and three other members of the team who won gold in Kuala Lumpur and are the top seeds at Manchester.

New Zealand were run close by England at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in the final of the last IRB world series tournament, and there will undoubtedly be a big push by the home side at Manchester.

New Zealand have lost a couple of players to injury but when push comes to shove they have continually proved themselves the best in the world.

SHOOTING

New Zealand's biggest team, 21, and they will win medals. One gold, three silver, three bronze was the haul in 1998; two gold, four silver, three bronze four years earlier.

Greg Yelavich is New Zealand's most successful Games performer, with 10 medals spread over four Games. Smallbore marksman Stephen Petterson has won four golds.

SQUASH

The programme includes doubles and mixed doubles, which takes some getting used to.

As for the singles, New Zealand should have two semifinalists in Carol Owens and Leilani Rorani, world No 2 and 4 respectively.

Australian Sarah Fitz-Gerald is world No 1 and the firmest of favourites, and England's Cassie Jackman is the other contender.

The men, Daniel Sharplin and Glen Wilson, are there only for the mixed doubles.

TABLE TENNIS

A team of eight will represent New Zealand, including three living overseas.

The best-known are veteran Peter Jackson, an international for 21 years, and Li Chunli, both of whom have played at three Olympics.

The men's quartet are experienced, the women's four are a mixed bag, ranging from the well-performed Chunli and her sister, Karen, to the less seasoned Tracey McLauchlan and Laura Lee-Smith.



TRIATHLON

After proving to be an opening-day disaster at the Olympics, the New Zealand team will have to wait until the final day of these Games to try to restore their reputation in the public's eyes.

There's every chance of a medal here, with Hamish Carter and Craig Watson ranked in the top couple in the world. Evelyn Williamson has top 10 Commonwealth ranking.

WEIGHTLIFTING

High hopes here with a team of five. Nigel Avery won two bronze in Kuala Lumpur and finished a distinctly useful 18th at the Sydney Olympics. Olivia Baker is ranked No 2 in the Commonwealth, finished eighth in Sydney and is the only New Zealand weightlifter to hold world records, from the world junior champs in Cape Town six years ago.

WRESTLING

This sport is traditionally dominated by countries such as Canada, India, Pakistan, South Africa - and watch out for Australia at Manchester.

The best prospect among our three wrestlers may be the Iranian-born Ricardo Aryan, the Oceania champion in the 66kg class.

Full coverage:
nzherald.co.nz/manchester2002

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