Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Olympic pole vault champion Nina Kennedy claimed a medal but walked away disappointed as she gave up her Commonwealth Games title to New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney in an upset.
Kennedy missed gold on a countback and had to settle for silver in Glasgow.
Compatriots Lachie Kennedy and Torrie Lewis were unable to repeat their 100m medal magic in their respective 200m finals, both finishing sixth.
But there was gold for Australia on a cold night at Scotstoun Stadium, through emerging race walk star Isaac Beacroft, while Sarah Billings took bronze in the women’s 800m.
Australian flag bearer Nina Kennedy had one miss at 4.65m before clearing on the second attempt.
The difference was McCartney, who also cleared 4.65m, did not miss a height before missing three times at 4.70m.
“I think that (disappointment) just shows the expectations I put on myself,” Kennedy said.
“I’m a high achiever, and I push myself to be that.
“But I think it’s also important to remember I’m human and I make mistakes.
“I didn’t want to make mistakes out there tonight, but I did.”
McCartney held the Oceania record with 4.94m until Kennedy broke it by clearing 4.95m in Monaco last month.
It was the fifth-best height on the all-time list and best in the world for the past five years, and had Kennedy eyeing the five-metre mark.
But the 29-year-old, who has made a stunning comeback this year after missing 12 months with repeated injury setbacks, conceded she didn’t handle the chilly conditions as well as McCartney.
“I don’t think I’ve jumped that low in like four years, and I think that just demonstrates how tough it was,” Kennedy said.
“I know I’m in better shape than that, and I’m excited for the rest of the season.
“But … the Comm Games, it’s just so much fun.
“I know this sounds silly, but sometimes sport is more than just the medals. It’s about the memories made and the connections.”
South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile won the men’s 200m in 19.96 seconds, ahead of Nigeria’s Udodi Onwuzurike (20.09) and Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor (20.11).
Australia’s fastest man Lachie Kennedy, who faced a difficult task from the inside lane, ran 20.41 in his secondary event.
It came two days after he became the first Australian man to claim a Games sprint medal since 1962, taking silver in his preferred 100m.
“I probably hit the bend a bit too hard, considering I was in lane one,” Kennedy said.
“But there’s some good guys out there, so I knew I had to give myself a bit of a buffer.
“I probably just gassed myself out a bit too much, considering the other races I did, but hey, I gave it my best shot.”
British Virgin Islands’ Adaejah Hodge (22.07) won women’s 200m gold ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Shaniqua Bascombe (22.35) and Jamaica’s Alana Reid (22.56). Lewis ran 22.88 from lane seven.
Billings was the first Australian woman to win a medal in the 800m since Sharon Stewart claimed bronze in 1990.
The 28-year-old shared the podium with a pair of world champions, after England’s Georgia Hunter Bell took gold ahead of Kenya’s Lilian Odira.
Billings, the national record holder, was buoyed by seeing teammate Rose Davies make history as the first woman to claim a Commonwealth Games 5000m-10,000m double.
“We’ve pretty much done every session together in the last three months, so to see her win two golds was just incredible and so inspiring,” Billings said.
“I saw her when I was walking out onto the line, and she was screaming so hard.
“I thought, ‘I want to join her on the podium’.”
