Sitemap
ContactNews
4 top eight finishes for Kiwis
Monday, August 13th, 2007
Medals continued to elude New Zealand’s grasp at the World University Games in Bangkok, but a gutsy race by American-based Max Smith in the 1500m and three swimming finalists meant New Zealanders ended the night with four top eight finishes.
After keeping with the pack for the first part of the race, Smith kicked at the bell but couldn’t quite get up to the leading group finishing fifth with a time of 3:42.10. The race was won by Algerian Samir Khadar.
At the pool, Corney Swanepoel and Moss Burmester finished fifth and sixth respectively in the 100m butterfly while North Shore clubmate Liz Coster was seventh overall in the 100m backstroke.
Earlier in the day the New Zealand Emerging Tall Blacks fell just short of a victory over Israel after a slow start saw the kiwis down 20-32 at the first quarter. A nail-biting final quarter ended the game 87-90 with Zane Meehl the top scorer.
To have a chance of getting through to the quarter finals, the Emerging Tall Blacks need a big win against South Korea tomorrow.
Waikato’s Monique Williams came third in her heat which qualified her for the 200m semi-final today at 3:30pm (NZ time).
Other events coming up today include the qualifying rounds for the table tennis mixed doubles and the women’s football team play Canada. Corney Swanepoel and Moss Burmester will race in the 50m Butterfly and New Zealand will compete in the 4×100 individual medley.
With over 10,300 competitors and officials from 170 nations competing in 17 sports, the World University Games are the second largest global multi-sports event after the Summer Olympics.
University Sport New Zealand receives funding from government agency SPARC and NZCT towards the costs of sending the New Zealand team to the World University Games. The team is also sponsored by Crocs.
We are uploading a selection of the photos on to www.flickr.com/photos/worldunigames. They are high enough quality for print, captioned and free of charge. If you would like a unique shot, then please contact the NZ Team Media Manager, Julia King.
For more information or media interviews, contact details are as follows:
Julia King
Media Manager, NZ Team - World University Games
Cell phone while in Bangkok: 0066 8 47676831 (Five hour time difference)
Email: julia.king@sparc.org.nz.
Marketing and Communications Advisor, SPARC
