Six medals for Kiwi swimmers puts NZ second on medal table

New Zealand’s swimmers put in a stellar performance to claim 6 medals in the pool on day two of the Commonwealth Youth Games.

Laticia Transom, originally from Taihape, led the charge, winning gold in the 200m freestyle with a time of 2.01.56.

“The last 25 metres I gave it all I had and it worked out really well,” Laticia said.

“Standing on the podium, there’s nothing like it, it was so uplifting, it was great.”

Wellington’s Lewis Clareburt then set a New Zealand age group record to earn another gold medal posting 1.49.89 in the men’s 200m freestyle.

Gina Galloway from Auckland swam a gutsy race to take out bronze in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1.02.68.

Finn Kennard-Campbell, also from Auckland, followed suit in the men’s division of the same race, posting a time of 56.85 to claim bronze.

Palmerston North’s Mya Rasmussen took silver in the 200m breaststroke finishing in 2.31.49.

Taranaki’s Zac Reid then dug deep to win the gruelling 1500m freestyle race in a time of 15.40.11.
  
A free to use video interview with Laticia Transom can be accessed at this link. Free to use images are available on request from lewis@olympic.org.nz

Earlier in the day Auckland cyclist Abigail Morton won New Zealand’s first medal of the games in the time trial. Morton recorded a time of 13.45 to finish second and earn silver.

The 16 year old Baradene College student said she had no idea whether her time would be good enough to earn her a podium spot.

“I went harder at the start because there were a few variables like wind and by the end the conditions had eased so that helped me along a bit,” said Abigail.

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“Standing on the podium was special, I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to wear my podium tracksuit so it was great to stand there next to some good competitors.”

Fellow cyclist Jenna Merrick from Auckland narrowly missed out on a podium spot, coming in fourth. In the men’s time trial Dylan Simpson from Palmerston North placed 21st.

At the beach volleyball stadium the men’s team of Tyran Gillespie from Rotorua and Keegan Joe from New Plymouth held strong in their do or die match against Jamaica. The pair played a tidy game to win in 2 sets, 21-10, 21-10.

“We tried to play our game and stuck to our game plan and that got us the win,” said Tyran.

“It was awesome, a really great feeling to get the win after that loss yesterday so we’re pretty happy,” said Keegan.

They now face Cyprus in tomorrow’s quarter final.

The women’s team of Ella Akkerman from Tauranga and Jasmine Milton from Whangarei won their match against Trinidad and Tobago in 2 sets, 21-9, 21-18. They finish top of their pool and will face England in tomorrow’s quarter final.

The Kiwi boxers also kicked off their campaign today. Rakai Kirkwood from Auckland had a tough loss against Canada on a split decision. Jayden Downs from Auckland then lost to England, again on a split decision.

Kyle Chen from Paihia danced around his Australian opponent for the win and will progress to the quarter-finals.

Shylah Waikai also progresses to the next round following a convincing win against Sri Lanka.

New Zealand now sits in second on the medal table behind only England.

Medal tally: Gold x 3, Silver x 2, Bronze x 2