The third day of competition was a brilliant display of consistency and strength for a number of our athletes. Cameron McTaggart broke the New Zealand Youth 69kg weightlifting clean and jerk record, while Julianne Alvarez put herself in a comfortable 5th position after the first round of 18 holes in the golf. More to come as the Youth Olympic Games athletes continue pool rounds and move on to the next levels of competition.
GOLF
Tuesday saw the first round of competition for Julianne Alvarez, 18, Lower Hutt. Against par, she shot two under with 16 pars and two birdies. Julianne is one shot behind the leaders and tied for 5th. Team manager Karen de Lautour, said that Julianne is placed well going in to the next two days of competition. She played well, very consistently, de Lautour said.
Nick Coxon, 18, Hamilton opened up his first nine holes with a one over the card. Coxon proceeded to turn his play around on the back nine, shooting three under and consistently putting for birdies from close range. de Lautour said that Coxon was able to focus going in to the back nine and really used his length off the tee to his advantage, giving himself a lot of birdie opportunities. Coxon finished his 18 one under and is 15th at the end of the first round.
The golfers will play round two tomorrow, teeing off at 12.30pm (NZ)
SWIMMING
The swimmers had a quieter day in the pool today with Bobbi Gichard returning to the Olympic Sports Centre to compete in the heat of the 200m backstroke. The medal winning performance from the night before may have taken its toll on the 14-year-old athlete from Hawkes Bay. She kept with the leaders for the first 50 metres, but started to struggle heading in to the last 100 metres and finished 6th in 2:18.00.
The swimmers will return for competition tomorrow, with Gichard and Gabrielle Faamausili in the 50-metre backstroke and Jacob Garrod in the 200-metre breaststroke.
ROWING
The womens pair of Jackie Gowler, 18, Fielding, and Renee Olley, 17, Ashburton, raced in the repechage today, finishing in 3:43.34 and placing 4th. This will put the pair in to the B final tomorrow.
Jack OLeary, 17, Dunedin, was close to an A final berth through the single sculls today, but just missed out finishing 4th in 3:27.23. It has been a difficult campaign for these rowers who went from the World Junior Championship straight to Nanjing for the Youth Olympic Games, converting distance and boat in the process. But the rowers have kept their sights set on success, with Jack OLeary saying that he was determined to win the B final tomorrow. The coach of both crews, Mark Stallard, said that both crews were steadily improving as the regatta progressed.
HOCKEY
Womens Hockey took on Germany today in pool play and brought home the win 4-1 in their third game of competition. The team played a coordinated game, coming together defensively and keeping the Germans out of the goal box.
According to assistant coach Verity Sharland, the teams goalie, Isla Bint, had an exceptional game.
She saved two of three challenges, said Sharland, which contributed to the strong 4-1 victory for the kiwi girls. The team is now sitting at the top of the table with China, who they will play at 11pm tomorrow (NZ). Coach Caryn Paewai said, if were smart we can compete and if we can compete, anything can happen.
WEIGHTLIFTING
It was an incredible day for New Zealands 69kg weightlifter, Cameron McTaggart. The 16-year-old from Auckland broke his own youth clean and jerk record, lifting 131kg - an improvement of
McTaggart started competition in the snatch, attempting to break his record of 110kg. Attempting 111kg on his third attempt, McTaggart was unable to lift the bar. But the clean and jerk was where McTaggarts strength unfolded, opening with 125kg, 128kg and then the record-breaking 131kg.
Im relieved, said McTaggart after competition. Theres not much more in the tank.
Coach Richie Patterson said the young athletes resolve was what earned him the record.
To go and finish off that last clean and jerk when it was that hard shows his ability to fight, said Patterson.
McTaggart also equaled his total record of 238kg and finished 10th in the competition. When asked about the experience competing at the Youth Olympic Games, McTaggart said it was life changing.
It felt so good doing it, thats what I want to do for the rest of my life, he said.
BASKETBALL
The 3x3 Basketball team fought to take home their third win in as many days, but couldnt quite match the Argentine team today, falling 14-9. The team, coming off a tournament in Shanghai before the Games, was lethargic on the court according to coach Anthony Corban. We were beaten by a better team, said Corban. They just fed off our mistakes. The team, consisting of Raymond Penny, 18, Manukau; Sam Timmins, 17, Dunedin; Isaac Davidson, 17, Auckland; and Izayah Mauriohooho Leafa, 17, Wellington, will play Tunisia tomorrow at 9pm (NZ).
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Kahurangi Robinson, 17, Rotorua, and Nathaniel Moore, 18, Tauranga, lost their first game of the tournament - but to world champions Brazil. The volleyballers played a controlled game, serving tough to the opposition and keeping in touch with the world champions throughout. It was 21-17 to Brazil for the first set, and 21-10 for the second. Coach Darrell Boyd said the boys took a few serves to warm in to the game against the World Champs. They were nervous to start with, but once they got in the game they said to themselves we can actually compete, Boyd said.
And the team did, with the only errors coming from a poor serve-receive in the second set. The team are currently ranked 2nd equal with Brazil and will need to be in the top four to move forward. They play Jamaica on Thursday at 7pm (NZ)
SAILING
It was a drawn out day for the sailors today, with a lack of wind delaying the start of the mens and womens T93 windsurfing races. But the wind was just enough for the one-man dinghy competition and Alistair Gifford, 15, Blenheim, was able to compete in his third and fourth races. The highlight of the day was Giffords fourth placing in the third race, which was followed by 16th in the fourth. Gifford will be racing at 3pm (NZ) tomorrow and competition will resume at the same time for Coral Headey, 15, Tauranga, and Finn Croft, 16, Auckland, in the windsurfing.