Hamish Kerr

The Kiwi beat his Australian rival to win the event.

It was an outstanding effort for the Kiwi who has won Aotearoa's first gold medal in track and field in Birmingham. His highest jump was 2.25m. The 25-year-old made every one of his first four attempts, battling for first place against Australian rival Brandon Starc who claimed silver. New Zealand's Hamish Kerr has won gold in the final of the high jump at his first Commonwealth Games.

Hamish Kerr and Paul Coll have claimed New Zealand's latest gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in the high jump and men's squash singles events.

With four days left to go in the Commonwealth Games, New Zealand currently sits fourth in the competition medal tally with a total of 16 gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze medals. Swimmer Lewis Clareburt finished third in the 200m individual medley and men's mountain bikers Sam Gaze and Ben Oliver won gold and silver for a New Zealand one-two. The golds were New Zealand's third of the day, after Sam Gaze took top honours in the the mountain biking cross-country final, while Ben Oliver won silver in the event.

On an historic night for New Zealand athletics at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Hamish Kerr celebrated a brilliant gold medal in the men's high ...

The idea was to get that start and relax through the second half of the race. The field out there was amazing and to run against the Olympic champion at a Commonwealth Games was unreal. As the other guys then started to falter, I could see that I was in a pretty good position. I have at least a couple more years to grow as an athlete, but I I’m getting there.” “I back myself (to perform well in big competitions) and I think I am a real competitor. My coach wasn’t able to come with me for a quite a while because he had Covid, so I’ve been chasing form a little bit but to get it done is a massive relief.” “It has been a long year for me, and I’ve been away from New Zealand since May, which is the longest stint I’ve ever had away from home. The stadium is awesome, and I fed off that energy. Looking relaxed throughout he spent large chunks of the competition chatting amiably to his fellow competitors. I don’t think I’ve ever competed in a crowd like it, you just have to thrive off it. I knew I came in with some pretty good form but at the same time to get it done tit is amazing. Hamish, the New Zealand record-holder with a best of 2.31m, looked in total control clearing his opening height of 2.15m at the first time of asking and maintained his flawless record with first time clearances at 2.19m, 2.22m and 2.25m to pile the pressure on his opposition.

Gold for Coll in squash thriller. New Zealand squash star Paul Coll has risen to the occasion once again, beating Welsh opponent Joel Makin in a five-set ...

Clareburt touched in at a time of 1:57:59, just outside of the New Zealand record. Swimmer Lewis Clareburt has won his third medal of the Games by clinching the bronze in the 200m individual medley. Kiwi Hamish Kerr has produced a near flawless performance to claim the gold in the men’s high jump.

The pain in Brandon Starc's heel kept him from competing at the world championships in the US last month, but he fought through it to claim silver in ...

He figured his son and wife in the stands had helped get him through the pain. The defending champion missed once at 2.15m, took three attempts to get over 2.19m, two to get over at 2.22m, but then cleared 2.25m with his first effort. “I was taking my shoe off trying to get some sort of relief, taping it here and there, but really I just had to grit my teeth and jump through it. Two weeks later and his foot had improved enough to jump, but not enough to defend his Commonwealth Games gold medal. Brandon Starc would jump, often miss the height he needed, walk away to his chair and take off his shoe. He’d miss a height and then clear the next by 30 centimetres.

Squash player Paul Coll and high jumper Hamish Kerr felt different forms of pressure going into their events at the Commonwealth Games, but both responded ...

"The Commonwealth Games holds something special in New Zealanders hearts... I've done if before." "I love competing, I love the pressure of having to get a good jump in and having the crowd behind you... "I knew I had some good form in my legs and I was able to get a few first attempts and get into the swing of things and the rest is history. "It was a massive battle and I was struggling to concentrate, I was getting a bit lost out there sometimes, but I'm just proud of the way I turned it on in the fourth and the fifth when it really counted. Coll says he felt the expectation of winning and so is delighted to have won gold in the men's singles in Birmingham.

His flawless jumping at lower heights was enough to edge Aussie defending champion Brandon Starc.