NZ Youth Athletes put Medals on the Radar

Our sailors caught the wind today and used it to place a bid for the medal races, the 50 metre backstroke swimmers qualified through to the final and the mens basketball team took two from two in their pool games. The day began with an inspirational forum for the kiwi athletes with Olympic Champion, Lisa Carrington and moved forward to a great day of competition.

GOLF

It was another hot day for the golfers out at Zhong Shan golf club in Nanjing. Nick Coxon shot one under again in round two of competition, leaving him tied for 7th place going in to the final round. Hes sitting at two under and the leader, Viktor Hovland from Norway, is on eight under.

If Nick is able to consistently hit the greens, he has the ability to shoot a good score because he can hit all the par fives in two, said coach Karen de Lautour at the end of competition today. Coxons length is his strength, she continued.

Julianne Alvarez shot a one over 73 and sits at one under today, tying her for 4th going in to the final round.

Shes hitting the ball really well and just needs to stay patient through her putting to look to convert these great shots into birdies, said de Lautour.

ROWING

The rowers finished their youth Olympic games campaign today in two B finals, with both the single sculls and womens pair finishing third. Jack OLeary came in with a time of 3:32.29, while the womens pair of Renee Olley and Jackie Gowler finished in 3:53.18. This marks the end of a long and difficult campaign for the NZ rowers, who bravely fought through tough competition at World Juniors and then proceeded to switch boats and distance to cross over to the Youth Olympic Games.

SAILING

The windsurfers were out on the water again today after a days delay due to no wind.

The stronger winds were difficult for Coral Headey to navigate and she was unable to move up in to the top 10 overall positions, finishing with two 18th placings and one 12th.

Finn Croft had a great day out on the water with a 2nd, 6th and 7th positions, moving forward in competition. On points, hes closer to a silver medal than he was yesterday. If he has another day like today, hell end up in the medal race, said coach Bruce Kendall, before continuing. Numerically, hes still looking good even though hes in the same place he was yesterday.

Alistair Gifford also had three races, with a similar result to Croft not moving up the leader board, but putting himself in a close position to the leaders on points. Gifford finished 5th, 8th and 4th in his three Byte CII races.

Tomorrow night were really getting down to the sharp edge, well know where we are in the medal race, said Kendall.

EQUESTRIAN

Emily Fraser had a clear round in the international mixed teams show jumping today, moving through the difficult course in under the 78 seconds time limit. Working with the Australasia contingent of Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Iran.

Im over the moon, said Fraser about her no fault jumping. Im feeling much more confident now heading in to the individual competition.

Emily rode well today, said coach Maurice Beatson, but said the faults from the other riders in the team meant the medals were not an option for Australasia.

Fraser described her horse Exilio, which was assigned upon arrival at competition, as careful and brave.

I couldnt have asked for a better horse, she said.

HOCKEY

Mens hockey played the Germans today, winning 4-1 and using the game

The womens hockey played crowd favourite and top of the table China in pool rounds today, falling 8-3 to the local team. An entourage of family and supporters showed up at the turf to counter the chants of China with the cheers for the Kiwi girls. The team came out strong in the first third, scoring two goals before the Chinese were on the score-board. But the opposition came back strong, using their offensive strategy to push the ball into the goal.

The girls were disappointed after the game, but will have another opportunity to compete tomorrow at 9.30pm (NZ) against Uruguay.

BASKETBALL

The 3x3 basketball team took two from two with a 17-15 win over Tunisia in the first game of the day. It was a slow start for the players, down 6-0 before time out. Returning to the court, the team was able to claw back into the competition and was up by three with 30 seconds to go. The final two point victory put the confidence back in to a team that is struggling with Sam Timmins feeling the effects of a heavy cold. The second game of the day against Andorra started out problematic, with Izayah Mauriohooho Leafa going down with a twisted ankle in the first minute. The team pulled together and was able to beat their opposition 21-16. Coach Anthony Corban said the team would progress through to the next round but face heavy challenges in the next four games against Spain, Brazil, Russia and Romania.

The team will have a rest day tomorrow and resume games on Friday.

TABLE TENNIS

Sophia Dong opened up play in the mixed team international competition today with teammate, TAnje Johnson, from St Kitts. Players have been assigned a partner for the mixed team from their continent or, as is the case for Dong, another country.

Competition opened up against Hungarian Leila Imre, with Dong falling three to nothing in the first game. Coach Tim Seaholme said Dong played a stronger game than in her singles match against the same player.

The competition continued with the duo playing the Hungarians in the mixed doubles, finishing 3-0. Competition will continue tomorrow with Dong and Johnson playing Belgium at 3:30pm (NZ).

SWIMMING

Our two golden backstroke girls are through to the next round in the 50-metre sprint. Bobbi Gichard, bronze medallist in the 100-metre backstroke, qualified 5th fastest out of the semi-finals and Gabrielle Faamausili came through to qualify with the fastest time.

It will be a tough race in the pool tomorrow night, beginning at 10.11pm (NZ)