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Sport

Suzanne McFadden

The Tokyo Lowdown: Day 7 glory

Part grimace, part smile: Emma Twigg giving everything she's got as she crosses the finishline to win her first Olympic medal in four Games - and it's gold. Photo: Getty Images.

In one of NZ's great Olympic days - three medals on the rowing course - the fairytale of Emma Twigg stands out. LockerRoom's daily wrap of our Kiwi sportswomen continues.

Performances of the day

Emma Twigg can now finally believe.

Many times during her 18-year Olympic journey, the single sculler struggled to believe in her ability. Two fourths in back-to-back Olympic finals will knock your confidence around like that.

It was even there, fleetingly, when she crossed the finish-line on Tokyo’s Sea Forest Waterway on Friday, the first woman home in the Olympic single sculls final (and collecting the first of three New Zealand rowing medals within a glittering hour).

“To be honest, I didn’t actually hear the hooter and I thought for a minute I’d stopped before the line,” Twigg said, back on land.

But after winning an Olympic medal on her fourth attempt – and winning gold, convincingly – Twigg will surely finally believe.

“She’s always been capable; better than she realised,” says Angus Ross, her strength and conditioning coach. “But she had a few demons to bury – and she’s done that now. She had to go on this journey.

“Today will change her life.”

Twigg’s rowing story has a fairytale feel about it; she calls it "a dream come true".

“After all these years, and many, many disappointments,” the 34-year-old said. “I just can’t thank the people I’ve surrounded myself by enough. They’ve got me here. That’s not my result, that’s my team.”

The first on that list is her wife of 18 months, Charlotte. As Twigg crossed the finish line, and it sunk in that she had, in fact, won gold, she kissed the wedding ring on a chain around her neck.

Charlotte (nee Mizzi, pictured with Twigg, above) is a former Wellington cricketer now the commercial manager for Northern Districts Cricket, and was back home in Cambridge.

“She’s changed my philosophy on life. I’m a very lucky girl,” Twigg said.

Then there’s Twigg’s coach, Mike Rodger, a former Olympic rower whom she credits with turning her into a world-class sculler. Rodger was in a serious car crash in January 2020, and his rehabilitation was long.

Had the Olympics been a year ago, Twigg says he probably wouldn’t have been with her in Tokyo. “I feel like this is fate,” she said.

Twigg had retired, disillusioned, after missing a bronze medal by 0.35s in Rio. She got a job with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, and worked at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, where she realised she wanted one more shot at an Olympic medal.

She cycled part of the way home, down through Europe with Kiwi Olympic heptathlete Rebecca Wardell. In fact, Wardell was at the finish line yesterday (in her role with the IOC) hugging Twigg after she came off the water.

When she arrived home, Rowing NZ allowed Twigg to choose the people in her support team, including Ross, a former Winter Olympic bobsledder and power physiologist.

They targeted increasing her power. “She was always characterised as a ‘big diesel’,” Ross says. “She was slow off the line, but she’d grind away to climb over people on her way to the finish.

“By changing the way she’s training, she’s more powerful. She seizes the lead by 500m now and carries on.”

No one truly challenged Twigg in all four of her races in Tokyo. In the final, she led from the outset, 2s ahead of Austrian Magdalena Lobnig at the 500m, and picking up her speed to comfortably hold off Russian Hanna Prakatsen in the last 500m. Twigg won in Olympic record time (7m 13.97s).

But the biggest part of her growth has been “the top six inches”, Ross says. That confidence in her ability.

“She’s struggled to believe sometimes, and then came to the realisation she has to believe – and now she’s believing,” he says. “It’s been an amazing journey.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see her back in three years’ time in Paris [2024 Games]. She could be in the single scull, or in another boat. But whatever boat she’s in she adds so much.”

Gold medallist Emma Twigg wishes the NZ women's eight well going into their final, where they won silver. Photo: Getty Images.

Twigg had taken inspiration from Thursday’s gold medal performance of the Kiwi pair, Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler. They, in turn, were buoyed by Twigg’s golden row as they returned to the start line less than half an hour later for the women’s eight final.

To lesser mortals, trying to win two Olympic events in 24 hours would be a gargantuan task. But in seats five and six in the eight, Prendergast and Gowler played their part in New Zealand’s first women’s eight medal.

This time it would be silver; the world champion Kiwi crew in third at the halfway point of the race, but fighting back to almost catch Canada, the leaders for the entire 2000m. The difference between the two boats at the line was just 0.91s.

For the record, the nine in the boat were Ella Greenslade, Emma Dyke, Lucy Spoors, Kelsey Bevan, Beth Ross, Prendergast, Gowler, her sister stroke Jackie Gowler and cox Caleb Shepherd.

For Prendergast that race was as rewarding as their win the day before. “It was so much fun. I think we’ve really been a really good bunch and it's just so special to come away with a special medal that feels like a gold.”

Then straight afterwards, the New Zealand men’s eight went one better, winning the first Olympic eight gold medal since the 1972 Munich Olympics. That ended New Zealand’s successful rowing schedule in Tokyo with a heavy tally of five medals – three gold and two silver.

Quote of the day

"For anyone who's had a little bit of failure… just keep at it. If you believe you can do something and you know your worth, then the world’s your oyster.” Emma Twigg, Olympic single sculls champion.

Images of the day

The good news

Dame Valerie Adams got just over the automatic qualification mark of 18.80m in her third and final throw (18.83m) on Friday night to go through to the shot put final. And she won't be the only New Zealander there.

Fellow Kiwi Maddison-Lee Wesche, the former junior world champion and Olympic debutant, will join the five-time Olympian on Sunday afternoon after pulling off a personal best of 18.65m in her first throw, enough to see her through to the big dance.

Equestrian Jonelle Price started well on day one of dressage in the three-day eventing.

The 40-year-old scored 30.70 in the individual category atop Grovine De Reve. The world No.7 is in eighth place after 21 riders, in a field of 63.

Price will be cheering on fellow equestrian teammate Jesse Campbell, who is at his first Olympics, in session two of dressage on Friday evening. And she will be back on the horse on Saturday afternoon for the team dressage session.

Young trampolinist Maddie Davidson had an impressive Olympic debut - as the first Kiwi female trampolinist at a Games - finishing 10th after the compulsory and voluntary rounds. Although the Christchurch athlete produced two strong routines, she had a few technical difficulties in the voluntary, and her total was just 6.710 points short of a place in the top eight final.

Stacey Fluhler scores against ROC in the Black Ferns' big win on Tokyo Olympics Day 7. Photo: Getty Images.

Ruby Tui’s support play and speed gave the Black Ferns Sevens two tries in the first half in their final pool match against the Russia Olympic Committee. Portia Woodman opened up the second half up with a try and Stacey Fluhler scored twice to make the final score 33-0 to the Kiwis.

Hours after playing ROC, both teams were back at Tokyo Stadium to play against each other in the first quarterfinal. The Black Ferns Sevens' rushing defence caused havoc, helping the World Cup champions get up to 17-0 by the break. Another three tries in the second half put the game out of reach and secured a semifinal spot on Saturday afternoon against Fijiana. The final score: 36-0.

The not-so-good-news

Kiwi BMX rider Rebecca Petch got off to a good start in Friday's semifinals, finishing fourth in the first race at Ariake Urban Sports Park.

But the two following heat races weren’t the best, Petch crossing the line sixth on both occasions. The 23-year-old ended up sixth overall and didn't progress to the final.

It’s still a massive achievement for the first time Olympian, especially as she was riding amongst some of the best in the business, including Colombian Mariana Pajon, the ‘Queen of BMX’.

The Rio silver medallist 49er FX sailors, Alex Maloney and Molly Meech, had a rollercoaster day - an 8th, 3rd and 19th in light winds leave them 11th overall after nine of 12 races.

And runner Camille Buscomb finished well off the pace in her 5000m heat on Friday night, coming home in 14th. She will race the 10,000m on Saturday.

What the?!

German judo coach Claudiu Pusa has been given a warning by the International Judo Federation for his pre-fight 'antics' with his competitor Martyna Trajdos.

Trajdos defended her coach, after he shook and slapped her twice on the face before she went out to fight Szofi Ozbas from Hungary. She asked Pusa to do it, she claims, to fire her up for the fight. She didn’t win and the German duo is now making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Rikki's pick

The Black Ferns v Fiji sevens semifinal on Saturday afternoon is Rikki Swannell's pick of the day's action.

"I've never seen Fiji play as well as they have in this tournament. They're disciplined and composed, and their quarterfinal win over Australia shows nothing is impossible," she says from Tokyo.

"But the Black Ferns hae kicked into gear since going 21-0 down in the first half against Great Britain and have so much firepower, desire and experience in these situations, they're still favoured to get through to the final."