AUSTRALIA’S golden superstars have returned home after dominating in the pool at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.O’Callaghan, 18, who bagged seven medals, was all smiles as she pulled out an armful of medals. “It’s really nice to head back home and settle back in and celebrate with my family,” she said. “I’m really happy to see Mum and my sister.”
The Australian Men’s beach volleyball duo has progressed to the gold medal match at Birmingham 2022. Chris McHugh wasn’t a popular man in Birmingham as Australia put Rwanda’s Commonwealth Games dream on ice to qualify for the men’s volleyball gold medal game. The Australian veteran, partnering fresh-faced Paul Burnett, will gun for back-to-back titles on Sunday against Canada.
All hail the Queen. Emma McKeon has broken the record for the most gold medals won at the Commonwealth Games. No one should be surprised because the 28-year-old wonder woman of swimming is the best ever to wear the green and gold cossies. These are different times – and modern-day swimmers get to compete in more events than their predecessors, but McKeon’s claim to greatness is indisputable.
You’ve gotta work awfully hard to make something look this natural and easy. You think for a second McKeon was born to swim, but it’s not like that. Once, in Mumbai, when Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was asked about his God-given gift to bat, he suggested his success was probably more due to hitting hundreds of thousands of balls in the nets. Perfectionism is at the heart of McKeon’s success, and the cause of her ongoing internal battles.
McKeon takes home eight medals – six golds, a silver and a bronze – making Australia’s most successful Olympic athlete the most prolific Commonwealth athlete. “The main thing was definitely the mental toll,” she said. “It’s been a big week. It was physically tough but I’ve trained for that. Mentally, you have to get up to race.”
Plenty of action across Birmingham on Day 8 of competition. The Aussies have added two silver and six bronze to the tally, sitting on top of the table with 140 medals.
Unemployment is at a near 50-year low of 3.5 per cent. Yet only three per cent of Australia’s pensioners work, compared with 25 per cent in New Zealand, where they are not charged with penalties beyond income tax. Rebekah Sharkie, the Federal Independent MP for Mayo near Adelaide since 2016, and Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart, believe over-65s should be able to work more without losing their benefits. She wants an opt-in scheme that would either increase or remove the income-test threshold for pensioners with limited savings, and will now have the issue discussed at next month’s Skills Summit in Canberra ahead of the next the Federal Budget in October.
Both Australian beach volleyball teams have earnt their spots in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games semi finals.“They came out well, and served short, which makes it difficult to run our offense,” McHugh said. “But once we got the nerves out of the way, we were able to build our way into the match. “We’re just really happy to get through to the next round, and focused on our semi tomorrow,” he said.
Australia have wrapped up their Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign after another strong night in the pool at Sandwell Aquatic Centre.The final medal tally for the Australians includes 65 medals: 25 gold, 21 silver and 19 bronze.
The intense scrutiny on Kyle Chalmers continued right to his final wall touch in Birmingham as host nation England pipped Australia for gold in the men’s 4x100m medley relay Chalmers said. “It would have been nice standing on top of the podium, but it’s a good way to finish the week.” It ended a turbulent past few days for the 24-year-old , who claimed three gold medals and a silver.
Australia’s medal tally sits at 132 after four golds, four silvers and a bronze were added on Day 7 of competition at the Commonwealth Games.
Clancy said it feels great to be taking the steps towards where they want to be, the gold medal match. “I’m feeling good about the quarters, we’re going to enjoy this moment that’s for sure,” Clancy said. “We’re going to take some time to recover tonight and be ready to go again tomorrow,” she said. Artacho del Solar admitted while it is exciting to have progressed, it’s still about taking it one game at a time.
