In this week's newsletter, Scotty discusses Dame Lisa Carrington's dominance in the water, Lydia Ko's emotional gold medal win and an All Blacks loss that has flown under the radar.
CARRINGTON AMONG ALL TIMERS IN GOLD MEDALS
Eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame at 27. Let that sink in while still basking in the success of Lydia Ko at the Paris Olympics. This was insanely clutch from Ko, who completed the medal set with a composed final round 71 to see off the challenge from Germany’s Esther Henseleit.
There is something about the Olympics that resonates with Ko. It has not been a stellar year on tour, with many pundits picking Ko was already thinking about putting the clubs away and moving onto the next phase of her life (whatever that looks like). But she seems to grow when she is on the Olympic course, telling golf.com:
“My biggest goal is to be there [at the Olympics] and to represent my country.”
“I often joke that I may not be a great athlete, but I am an Olympian.”
Ko could still remember the number of New Zealand athletes who came to watch her final round in Rio, where she won silver in golf’s return to the Olympic fold. She claimed bronze in Tokyo and completed the set over the weekend.
Ko’s emotional reaction to the victory, both on the final green when she drained an eight-footer for birdie and the two-shot win, and on the dais when tears streamed during the national anthem, spoke volumes about her passion for New Zealand and her ability to have carved off yet another slice of golfing history at such a young age.
Ko’s youth has always defined her on the golf course – the youngest world number one, the youngest to win a major, and now the youngest inductee to the Hall of Fame, but her golden triumph in Paris may be the most defining victory yet.
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KERR, MCEWEN DESERVE PRAISE FOR BATTLING TO THE END
For many, the Entente Cordiale between Qatar's Mutaz Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi, resulting in the pair sharing the high jump gold medal in Tokyo was lauded as a great example of sportsmanship, but in the view of Sidelines, there was something more traditional and compelling about Hamish Kerr and Shelby McEwen putting it all on the line in Paris.
Kerr would eventually claim the gold, but only after both men put themselves through the ringer at four different heights. It was everything you should expect from a contest at the Olympics – the drama, the jeopardy, the fight between two men desperate to be outright champion.
In the end, it was Kerr who held his nerve, becoming the first New Zealand man to win an Olympic field event. His celebration was one for the ages, mustering all the adrenaline of victory as he tore off across the grass of the Stade de France with his arms outstretched and the cheers of the 60,000 fans ringing around this wonderful cauldron of sport.
That he can’t remember hearing any of it just goes to show what a wonderful, internal moment that must have been for him.
Make no mistake, that was an objectively awful final fifteen minutes from the All Blacks in Wellington, and we’ll discuss that in this morning’s column, but of even greater concern than the loss is the genuine sense of apathy that has gone with it. The public reaction, at least from what Sidelines can tell, could best be described as a shrug of the shoulders, a curse word or two under the breath and a quick let’s move right along as we have Olympics to watch.
Timing doesn’t help of course, and it is clear the collective thrill provided by New Zealand’s most glittering golden day in Paris trumped the disappointment of a second loss to Argentina on kiwi soil. Still, it is hard to remember an All Blacks loss that has flown so far below the radar, or an All Blacks test that attracted such an underwhelming crowd.
Apathy is not what you want in the business of professional sport, certainly not when you are wanting the nation to join you on a hikoi, as the team mantra, ‘Together We Walk’ would suggest. Not only could many Wellingtonians not be bothered walking to the stadium, but most of New Zealand’s sporting media are currently on assignment in France.
Fortunately, 1News digital sport reporter Patrick McKendry was there to make sense of a performance that provided few answers, and posed far too many questions.
WARRIORS GO DOWN SWINGING, BUT SEASON IS OVER
As if to cap off a most ludicrous weekend of New Zealand sport, the Warriors took the Dolphins to golden point at Suncorp courtesy of a – wait for it – penalty try awarded by – wait for it again - the bunker. Of all the ways for the Wahs to level a match, this one was the longest of long shots.
As it was, the Warriors looked like they were already focussing on the 2025 season when the Dolphins put them to the sword in the first half. Two tries in the opening quarter had the visitors reeling and it took some aerial magic from Ed Kosi to open their account.
It was more of the same from the Warriors. Lack of discipline, defensive disarray, inability to execute in the red-zone - the usual suspects leaving their prints all over a season’s worth of rugby league crime scenes.
Whatever spray the team received at half time seemed to work. Capewell latched on to a nifty grubber to score just three minutes after the break, then a run of three tries had the scored level with 10 to play. The got themselves back in front before Kodi Nikorima lost his mind and obstructed Mitch Barnett in the in goal.
Chanel Harris-Tavita had a chance to ice it inside regulation time, and another two minutes into the first period of golden point, but it was not to be. Sean O’Sullivan had no trouble for the other side, and with that, the Warriors are left to rue what might have been, or what was never likely, depending on who you talk to.
A FINAL THOUGHT ON THE OLYMPICS: OUR WOMEN ARE OUR STRENGTH
The next time you hear anyone complaining about investment in our wahine athletes, consider this: of the nine gold medals in Paris, seven were claimed by women or women’s teams. Of the seven silver medals, four were claimed by women or women’s teams. The bronze medals went to the women’s coxless four, and the Nacra mixed crew.
You don’t have to be a mathematician to understand that our women are the powerhouses of our modern medal counts, and they continue to inspire the next generation to perform. You can’t be what you can’t see is not a phrase you can use when it comes to our Olympics campaign. It is precisely because we can see these incredible women taking on the world and winning, that we can be assured others will want to follow in their footsteps.
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