N.Z. wins more medals but tally behind

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33447, 31 January 1974, Page 1

N.Z. wins more medals but tally behind

(By

R. T. BRITTENDEN)

Although New Zealand’s medal count now stands at 21 the team has a long way to go before it can match performances in some of the earlier Games.

There were nine medals for New Zealanders in the first of them, at Hamilton, Ontario in 1930, only four in London four years later. But at Sydney in 1938, New Zealand won 25 medals. When the Games were at Auckland in 1950, New Zealand was expected to do better, and did: 41 medals, including 10 golds.

In 1954, at Vancouver, New Zealand had 19 medal-win-ners and there were 18 at Cardiff in 1958. With a larger team at Perth in 1962, New Zealand had 31 successes, and again there were 10 first places. At Kingston in 1966 New Zealand had 26 medals, but the score shrank at Edinburgh four years ago to 13In previous Games, New Zealand has won a total of 49 gold medals, 67 silver and 70 bronze.

A good day For all that, yesterday was an outstandingly good one for New Zealand. There were gold medals won in wrestling and shooting, a silver in weight-lifting, two bronzes in wrestling, and three in boxing. So it was New Zealand’s best day in the Games so far, especially as the bowlers strengthened their claims to medal places. One of the most respected young men in his sport, the wrestler, David Aspin, won a gold medal for New Zealand in the 82kg class at the Town

Hall yesterday, and there could have been few more popular successes.

Aspin, aged 23, is a golf greenkeeper at Pukekohe, and he was the captain of the New Zealand Olympic Games team at Munich in 1972. He has been wrestling for 15 years: a modest, frank, conscientious young man.

The wrestling bronze medal winners were Gordon Mackay, of Auckland, in the 74kg class, and Gary Knight, of Wellington, in the 100 kg and over class. Mackay was also third-placed four years ago at Edinburgh.

Maurie Gordon, aged 47, won the second gold of the day for New Zealand at West Melton, in the fullbore rifle contest. His heavy tan suggests his outdoor life as a beekeeper at Napier, but his demeanour—reticent, almost retiring—could have him pass in the crowd without particular notice. But he is a master of his craft—he has acted as coach to many New Zealand teams, a post won through his mature judgment and knowledge of his sport. There were some stirring events at the stadium pool. David Wilkie, of Scotland, won two gold medals in seven hours—the 200 metres

breaststroke and the 200 metres medley. And the 14-year-old Australian schoolgirl, Sonya Gray, swam splendidly in the 200 metres freestyle, to win in a time only seven-tenths of a second outside the world record—held by Shane Gould, who watched from the press box. Brian Marsden, of New Plymouth, won dual satisfaction. He took the silver medal in the middle heavy-weight weight-lifting competition, and in the process broke the Commonwealth Games record for part of it, the clean and jerk. Marsden lifted 180 kg and seemed to have every chance of a gold. But within three minutes, in the dramatic silence of the James Hay Theatre, Nicolo Ciancio, of Australia, lifted just a little more, and that was that.