This week Craccum is bringing you sports news, (yes, you read that correctly). The 2022 Commonwealth Games took place from 28 July ‘til 8 August, with 72 nations/territories participating. New Zealand sent 223 athletes to Birmingham to compete in the games.
New Zealand finished fifth on the table with 49 medals including 20 gold medals, 12 silver medals, and 17 bronze medals. Cycling brought half of the gold medals home in track, mountain biking, and road biking. Cyclist Aaron Gate was awarded four of the ten cycling medals and was statistically the highest performing gold winning athlete. The other gold medals are as stands; five in swimming, three in squash, and two in athletics.
Coming in first at the Games was Australia, who were also the winners in the last 2018 Games, with New Zealand just shy of their 178-medal total. Despite New Zealand losing out to their Oceanic rivals, the country performed significantly better than in 2018 where only 15 gold medals were won.
One of the outstanding performance stories from the Games was when Imogen Ayris, a University of Auckland student, who won Bronze in the pole vault category with a broken foot—though she didn’t know it at the time. Jake, a Science student at the University, says, “It’s amazing to see student athletes winning on an international stage. A lot of the time I forget that athletes are doing the same things I am, like cramming an assignment or waking up for a dreaded 8 am lab. It’s insane they can balance it all, I have so much respect for them.”
For a more in-depth look at University of Auckland athletes, next week Craccum’s Features section will be bringing you a showcase of interviews with the student athletes who competed in the Games.
