The parents of the New Zealand rowers celebrated together on Friday afternoon, watching their children make history and win gold and silver medals for their nation.
The Cloud Convention Center in Auckland hosted three closely spaced rowing finals: the women’s singles sculls, the women’s eighth and the men’s eight. All eight parents were present with the eight men who won gold in a dramatic style.
As the cheers echoed in the center as New Zealand crossed the finish line after overtaking Germany (silver) and Great Britain (bronze) in the middle of the race, the parents of the Kiwi crews exchanged hugs and broke down the drinks.
Jock and Bridget Mackintosh, parents of rower Tom, were on their feet and applauding as their son crossed the finish line. Jock couldn’t stop grinning all afternoon.
CONTINUE READING:
* New Zealand men in rowing eight win gold, women win silver at the Olympic Games in Tokyo
* New Zealand’s rowers face the medal task as a couple, eight reach the Olympic final in Tokyo
* The New Zealand couple win both races to be on track for oar gold at the Tokyo Olympics
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Greg Wilson cheers his son Phillip in the men’s eight.
“You know what? Getting married is the happiest day of your life, winning this one is probably of equal importance,” he joked.
“The preparation was really good, so we were confident. But there were four or five boats that could have won, so we couldn’t be too confident.
“It’s a tremendous amount of hard work across the board. We had a board meeting two years ago about how we were going to fund that, there were five people who went in to fund it, without that we wouldn’t have come here. “
“We decided to come to Auckland for a week,” said Bridget Mackintosh.
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The Kiwi-Eight took the lead and grimly held on in another golden rowing moment!
“There’s a much bigger TV here than at home anyway!
“We just want to talk to him because we can usually party with him right after the race, so it’s a little different this time. But it feels absolutely amazing [we’re] over the moon. “
It is only the second time that New Zealand has won gold in the men’s eighth after the Kiwis triumphed in Munich in 1972. The current crew of Tom Mackintosh, Hamish Bond, Tom Murray, Michael Brake, Dan Williamson, Phillip Wilson, Shaun Kirkham, Matt Macdonald and helmsman Sam Bosworth finished the race with a time of 5 minutes 24.64 seconds.
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Gold medalists Sam Bosworth, Matt Macdonald, Shaun Kirkham, Phillip Wilson, Daniel Williamson, Michael Brake, Tom Murray, Hamish Bond and Thomas Mackintosh show off their medals after their victory.
Winning New Zealand’s fourth gold medal at these Games did not come without some hard work behind the scenes that Daniel Williamson’s parents Simon and Diane knew all too well.
“If you think of it like a pyramid, he is hey [Daniel] right at the top, but there are so many layers, ”said Simon Williamson.
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Sam Bosworth presented his teammates with their gold medals and then they tossed him in the drink.
“Financial support, coaching, car helpers, food – already from school – grandparents, aunts and uncles, he made everyone proud. We always thought they had a chance, they had trained well and we got messages back saying they were on duty. Today they blew it out of the park. “
Daniel Williamson was discovered at his local rowing club in Beachlands, east Auckland. After Tokyo, he will return to university to complete his education.
His parents call him the “baby” of the group. “Winning a gold medal at 21 was just a blow,” said Simon Williamson.
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Mahe Drysdale celebrates Emma Twigg’s victory in the 2000 meter individual scull.
Emma Twigg, 34, won her gold medal after 10 years of heartbreak. Fourth places at the Olympic Games in London 2012 and Rio 2016 meant that she left the sport for a short time and achieved her medal victory in an Olympic best time of 7 minutes 13 seconds.
Silver medals for the women’s eighth followed, with Ella Greenslade, Emma Dyke, Lucy Spoors, Kelsey Bevan, Grace Prendergast, Kerri Gowler, Beth Ross, Jackie Gowler and helmsman Caleb Shepherd finishing behind Canada.
Both races from The Cloud were watched by two-time Olympic rower Mahe Drysdale, who spoke of his joy in watching the country’s success in the sport.
“We have an expectation of ourselves, it’s great to see them meet them,” he said.
“All of New Zealand supports us, it is fantastic to see how they pay back and show what they can do.”
