Sam Gaze and Anton Cooper complete a Kiwi 1-2 in the cross country mountain biking. Photo / Greg Bowker
Sam Gaze and Anton Cooper complete a Kiwi 1-2 in the cross country mountain biking. Photo / Greg Bowker
David Leggat and Kris Shannon choose their greatest moments from the 20th Commonwealth Games.
Leggat's top five
Sam Webster sizzles at the velodrome Webster and his world champion sprint teammate Eddie Dawkins raced the individual pursuit semifinals. In the first race Webster, going round the velodrome up high on the bank, suddenly came down off the rise in the home straight and positively flew past Dawkins, no slouch himself, in a sizzling display of riding.
He went on to beat Olympic champion Jason Kenny in the final, one of his two gold medals.
Sam Webster crosses the line ahead of England's Jason Kenny in the men's sprint. Photo / Greg Bowker
David Rudisha mown down The Kenyan world record-holder seemed to have the 800m final in hand, until Botswana's Nigel Amos came with a withering late burst and caught the Kenyan just before the line, winning by .30s. Spectacular.
Moses, just Ugandan Moses Kipsiro defended his Games 10,000m title, with a blockbusting finish. He needed it to hold off Kenyan Josphat Bett by a mere 0.03s, with Canada's Cameron Levins unable to hold on, in third 0.12s behind Kipsiro. The winning margin was smaller than that of the 100m final.
Image 1 of 20: Casey Kopua walks from the court after losing to the the gold medal match between old rivals New Zealand and Australia at The Hydro. Photo / Greg Bowker
Mandy Boyd to the rescue With the final bowl in the New Zealand fours' bronze medal match against Scotland, and in big trouble four down and the game on the line, Boyd pulled out a perfectly-placed drive. It sent the jack careening into the ditch and with one swing of her arm turned a losing position into a 21-15 win. Her teammates, including 20-year-old Selina Goddard and Amy McIlroy, 22, whooped with delight.
Silver Ferns at the death Only 11 goals were scored in the final quarter of the gripping netball semifinal win over England. New Zealand got six, England five, and it was Maria Tutaia's clincher that won it.
The Silver Ferns celebrate their last second win over England in the semifinals. Photo / Greg Bowker
...off-field moment They used to call it the Hampden roar, back when 100,000 or more crowded into the old stadium for Scottish football internationals. When Scottish partially blind para sprinter Libby Clegg won gold in the 100m T12 final and the flags were raised, Flower of Scotland boomed around the stadium. The crowd sang with real passion - and the hairs on the back of the neck shot up. It happened 19 times at these Games. Call this the emotional representative for all those golds.
Shannon's top five
The Kiwi 1-2 The final 30 seconds of the men's mountain bike race provided the most thrilling finish for New Zealand at these Games. Teenagers Anton Cooper and Sam Gaze weren't meant to be there at the business end of the race, challenging world No3 Daniel McConnell. But not only challenge the Aussie, the pair blew by him in the final 500m to grab gold and silver.
Robertson's run Sometimes it's a case of a bronze won rather than a shinier medal lost. Case in point, Zane Robertson's third-place finish in the 5000m, where the 24-year-old duelled with a world-class field to announce himself on the Kiwi sports scene. Gold in that race? A Kenyan. Silver? Another Kenyan. And behind Robertson in fourth? You guessed it.
Finally the bride Linda Villumsen, always the bridesmaid at major events, finally broke through in Glasgow for her first gold, winning the women's time trial in outstanding fashion. The cyclist turned an eight-second deficit into a six-second lead in the final 6km, snapping a frustratingly consistent string of silver and bronze medals.
Linda Villumsen with her gold medal. Photo / Greg Bowker
Double gold for Patterson Richie Patterson was one error away from leaving the Commonwealth Games without a medal. Instead, the weightlifter's one final effort was enough to grab gold and make up for the disappointment of silver in Delhi in 2010.
To top it all off, Patterson left Glasgow with another precious piece of gold after marrying teammate Phillipa Hale.
Leat overcomes loss Missing out on judo gold in the 78kg weight class was nothing compared to what Adrian Leat has been through this year.
After brother and fellow judoka Alister died in February as the pair chased Commonwealth Games qualification together, Adrian won silver and said he hoped he made his brother smile.
...off-field moment A Kiwi colleague and I had just braved the long lines at the National Hockey Centre to grab a burger, content in our healthy choice for lunch. But then we saw them: chips with curry sauce.
Once more into the breach we went and, although initially appearing something of an abomination, they did not disappoint.
Friend Jessica Massey describes the bullying texts Olivia Podmore was receiving from squadmates on the first day of the coronial inquest into the death of the Olympic cyclist.
