Frenetic Games finish tests endurance

8.20am

MANCHESTER - The Commonwealth Games came to a frenetic and wet finish this morning (NZT), with many athletes testing their speed and endurance to make it to the closing ceremony.

No fewer than 10 sports staged finals on the last day of competition, with all except wrestling involving New Zealanders. And within an hour of the last swimmers receiving their medals at the pool, they had to change out of their togs to take part in the Games finale across town at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Perhaps they should have stayed in their togs, as the heavens opened when the ceremony got under way with the arrival of the Queen in the stadium.

The Manchester Games had to break with tradition by staging athletics at the start of the 10 day festival of sport, rather than swimming, because the European track and field championships start in Munich on Tuesday.

But cramming so many sports' finals into the last day brought cracks into the generally sound Games organisation and ruffled a few feathers in the Kiwi camp.

New Zealand's badminton silver medallists Sara Runesten Petersen and Nicole Gordon, their teammates and supporters were still on a bus wending their way through accident-snarled traffic from the Bolton venue, when they should have been back at the athletes' village preparing to leave for the closing ceremony.

Media covering the various finals today were told that their scheduled buses taking them back to the main press centre had been cancelled so they could transport people to the closing ceremony.

New Zealand's table tennis gold medallist Li Chunli was at her venue trying to pass urine for a routine drug test, when she should also have been back at the village and preparing to be one of five New Zealand team marchers at the closing ceremony.

New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie said he had told Games organisers that he thought the final day schedule was "too tough".

"Having said that we had some outstanding results today," he said, referring to the team's five gold, four silver and two bronze medals gleaned from the last day.

Currie said New Zealand had had to arrange late transport to take swimmers and other athletes to the main stadium.

"They (organisers) tried to do too much but at the end of the day you get on with it and do the best you can."

New Zealand athletes selected to march behind the New Zealand flag at the closing ceremony were Chunli, swimmer Toni Jeffs, hockey player Hayden Shaw and hammer thrower Phil Jensen, with the flag being carried by giant weightlifter Nigel Avery, winner of two gold medals and one silver.

New Zealand finished 5th on the medal table, behind Australia, England, India and Canada, with 11 gold, 13 silver, and 21 bronze medals.

- NZPA

Full coverage:
nzherald.co.nz/manchester2002

Medal table

Commonwealth Games info and related links