Heartbreak for Solomon, Mizrachi game but outclassed
Triumph turned to tragedy in less than 30 minutes for Steven Solomon and his three Australian teammates in a dramatic second heat of the men's 4x400m relay at the Commonwealth Games last Friday.
TRIUMPH turned to tragedy in less than 30 minutes for Steven Solomon and his three Australian teammates in a dramatic second heat of the men’s 4x400m relay at the Commonwealth Games last Friday.
With the top five teams in the heat qualifying for the final, things were looking up for the Aussies when they were in fifth place at the end of lap three. Solomon, the team’s fastest runner, powered home to finish third.
But a protest was lodged by other teams when Solomon was detected positioning himself fourth in line instead of fifth at the final baton change.
The penalty for being proven guilty of committing that error is instant disqualification – and 25 minutes later the judges ruled Australia out of the final, won by Botswana.
Solomon, who earlier finished seventh in the men’s 400m final, was disappointed, but took the outcome in his stride after an emotional Commonwealth Games.
“I am immensely proud of the boys – while we won’t be competing for a medal … we will come back stronger and faster than ever ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games,” Solomon said.
“Thank you to all of Australia for supporting me and my fellow athletes with such energy, passion and love.”
Solomon also thanked his coach, the entire team at Duke Athletics, his physiotherapist, family and friends “for their part in my success on the Gold Coast”.
After the closing ceremony, Solomon jetted home to Sydney for a brief visit before heading back to the US where he is studying a masters of management degree at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.
Meanwhile para table tennis player Barak Mizrachi returned from the Commonwealth Games without a medal, however the 30-year-old competed valiantly against strong opposition to finish with a 1-2 record.
After losing his opening-round game 3-0 to Englishman Ross Wilson, Mizrachi responded with a convincing 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-4) win over Nigerian Temitope Ogunsanya.
“I played well, although I was a bit shaky at the start but settled into a rhythm and got through pretty comfortably,” Mizrachi told The AJN.
He failed to progress to the next round, though, losing his final group match to South Africa’s Theo Cogill 3-0.
Mizrachi’s highlight of the Games was “marching into the opening ceremony, it was a thrill. It was a really nice feeling being in the village with the whole team and other countries and seeing all the messages from the community was really humbling.”
SHANE DESIATNIK AND AARON FETTER
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