Aussie Davies mows down Kenyan for 10,000m gold
Shayne Hope |
Rose Davies was “running scared” but need not have been as she blitzed the field to create history as the first Australian woman to win Commonwealth Games gold in the 10,000m.
In the absence of Scottish icon Eilish McColgan, who didn’t overcome a toe injury in time to defend her title in Glasgow, Davies mowed down runaway leader Diana Wanza, who had opened up a huge lead with six laps remaining.
Davies gradually reeled in her Kenyan rival and surged to the front with two laps to go, pulling clear to win a tactical race in 31 minutes 39.32 seconds.
It was the 26-year-old’s first Games medal and despite an eventual winning margin of more than 10 seconds, she didn’t feel gold was secure until the final few strides.
“I was running scared. Anything can happen and I had no idea where the girls were,” Davies said.
“I was trying to look at the big screen but I was just going as hard as I could in the last hundred metres. Once I crossed the line I was very happy.
“I could tell (Wanza) was slowing but I wasn’t sure how much of a gap I had, and I knew the race for third, they were coming too.
“They could’ve finished really fast so I was just still trying to run my race and run as fast as I could and finish really strong.”
Wanza claimed silver and Rwanda’s Florence Niyonkuru took bronze, with Australia’s second runner Lauren Ryan further back in fifth.
“I feel like I ran a really smart race and didn’t make any silly moves … but obviously watching a medal slip away is heartbreaking,” Ryan said.
“I’m pretty devastated and I think my family’s pretty devastated.”
McColgan is the face of Glasgow 2026 on promotional banners throughout the city but is recovering from a toe injury and was one of several high-profile athletes who pulled out at the last minute.
AAP