Walking: Australian too good for a brave Barrett

By DAVID LEGGAT at the Games

Craig Barrett's bid for golden redemption in the men's 50km walk fell short in a spectacular Manchester thunderstorm early today and he had to settle for the silver medal.

The 30-year-old from Hamilton was seeking to redress the despair of his collapse within sight of the finish line, and the gold medal, in Kuala Lumpur four years ago.

However, he was unable to match Australian Nathan Deakes, who backed up his win in the 20km walk less than 48 hours earlier with a Games record time of 3h 52min 40s, eclipsing the old mark by 17m 25s.

Deakes, sixth in the Sydney Olympics 50km and world No 3 last year, had an absorbing duel with Barrett through the first half of the race, during which nothing separated them.

From the 5km mark they left the other seven athletes in their wake and simply powered away.

By the 30km mark, the 24-year-old from Geelong, Victoria, was 15s ahead of Barrett and he put his foot down from there.

By 35km, the gap was 49s, at 40km it had stretched to 2m 23s and, as light rain turned to thunder and a torrential downpour, Barrett was unable to peg Deakes back, recording recorded 3h 56m 42s.

Third place went to Canadian Tim Berrett.

The other New Zealander in the race, Auckland's Tony Sargisson was in the chasing bunch battling for the bronze in the early stages, before drifting back.

The 2km-lap circuit was not regarded as demanding, but the elements, and the very nature of the race, conspired to make it a gruelling exercise for all that.

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