NZ saves best for last with eight Commonwealth Games medals on final day

New Zealand saved its best for last in Glasgow, claiming eight medals on the final day – its biggest single-day haul of the Commonwealth Games – including golds for the Silver Ferns in netball and judoka Sydnee Andrews in the women’s over-78kg category.

The Kiwis finished the Games with 36 medals – 10 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze – to place sixth on the medal table.

Before the Games started, High Performance Sport NZ set a target of 35-plus medals, which was beaten in the final event in Glasgow when George Jackson stormed home to claim bronze in the men’s 40km points race.

The day belonged to the Silver Ferns as they became Commonwealth Games champions for the first time since 2010, beating Jamaica 56-48 in the final.

It completed a remarkable turnaround for the Silver Ferns, who were thrust into turmoil 11 months ago when coach Dame Noeline Taurua was stood down.

The athletes were subjected to public ridicule over the saga and have also dealt with years of uncertainty surrounding the domestic ANZ Premiership competition.

Players were reduced to tears after the fulltime whistle including co-captain Kate Heffernan.

The Silver Ferns celebrate their gold medal. Photo / Photosport

“We’ve been through it these last 18 months and the way that we’ve been able to turn it around, this is the most incredible team and the most incredible group, I’m just so proud that we did it for ourselves and we did it for our fans and everyone back at home,” Heffernan told Sky Sport.

“I honestly can’t believe it. I’m just so proud.”

Along with the Silver Ferns, Andrews also claimed gold after an outstanding performance, defeating Cameroon’s Richelle Soppi Mbella by ippon, the highest score in judo, which results in an immediate victory.

It is New Zealand’s first judo gold since the Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games.

Andrews, a bronze medallist in Birmingham four years ago, was under an injury cloud heading to Glasgow and was selected conditionally, but the 23-year-old defied the odds to come out on top.

“I’m extremely happy,” Andrews told Sky Sport. “I couldn’t have done it without my coach Luke Preston, and my physio.

“We did so much work behind the scenes to get to where we are now and just to think that I’m going to be on top of that podium now is unreal.”

Sydnee Andrews celebrates after winning Commonwealth Games gold. Photo / Getty Images

Meanwhile, Ellesse Andrews won her second medal of the Games, taking silver in the women’s keirin to add to the bronze she claimed in the 1km time trial.

Andrews was leading for part of the race, but was overtaken with two laps to go and even found herself boxed in, but she managed to take a gap to finish second. Her teammate Olivia King finished seventh.

New Zealand also claimed two silver medals in the para-bowls B6-B8 pairs, with Teri Blackbourn and Julie O’Connell finishing runners-up in the women’s event, while Mark Noble and Kurt Smith did the same in the men’s.

Fellow cyclist Devon Briggs secured his second medal of the Games, taking bronze in the men’s C1-3 3000m individual pursuit in a time of 3m 26.682s.

The 22-year-old had earlier won gold in the C1-3 time trial with a Commonwealth Games record of 1m 05.536s.

Judoka Kody Andrews also won bronze in the men’s over-100kg category.

Jackson also claimed bronze in dramatic fashion in the points race. He finished equal with Scotland’s Mark Stewart on 61 points, but was in a better finishing position in the final sprint and that’s what decides it.

Fellow Kiwi Thomas Sexton finished fifth and Keegan Hornblow seventh.

New Zealand missed out on further medals in the women’s elimination race, with Ally Wollaston finishing fifth, Sami Donnelly 10th and Prudence Fowler 12th.

Nicole Murray also narrowly missed the podium by 0.11s, placing fourth in the para-sport C1-5 women’s 1000m time trial.

Sam Dakin and Daniel Morton couldn’t make much impression in the men’s 1km time trial, finishing 15th and 18th respectively.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.