Bryony Botha couldn’t believe what she was seeing when she caught a glimpse of rival Maeve Plouffe out of the corner of her eye.
The 24-year-old track cyclist took her first gold medal in a new Commonwealth Games record time of 3:18,456 na defeated the Australian by a whopping 8.666 seconds to cap off an extremely dominant final of the women’s individual pursuit.
Botha was stunned by her gold medal winning ride, diving below 3:19 for the first time. She has improved by 17 seconds since her Commonwealth Games debut, when she finished ninth and missed the 2018 Gold Coast final.
After mowing down Plouffe in the final few laps of the 3000m race, Botha crossed the finish line on the Australian’s rear wheel.
“It was such a shock,” Botha told Sky Sport. “I didn’t expect to catch her.
“Maeve is a strong rider and I thought we would be fairly level. I thought it was going to be a close race.
“When I looked up and saw her there, I felt like I was just going to use the design and make the most of it.”
Botha has made great strides in 2022. After finishing last in the team pursuit at the Tokyo Olympics last year, she has developed into a true world-class individual chaser, now the third fastest of all time.
Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Bryony Botha celebrates after winning the women’s individual pursuit final.
She gave a glimpse of her gold medal potential when she eclipsed Sarah Ulmer’s longstanding national record by posting a time of 3:24.256 at the Waikato-Auckland Championships in January.
Ulmer set the record when she won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and time was so fast that it remained a world record for six years.
Botha has since lowered the national record four more times, including twice at the Commonwealth Games; in qualifying and then again in the gold medal race.
Botha brought her ride to perfection in the final and rebounded after losing to the Australian in the team pursuit final 24 hours earlier.
After the first lap, there were only 0.265 seconds between Botha’s slowest and fastest laps.
Botha is the fourth New Zealander to win the women’s individual pursuit at the Commonwealth Games, alongside previous winners Alison Shanks (2010), Ulmer (1998 and 2002) and Madonna Harris (1990).
“I really can’t believe it,” she told Sky Sport.
“I wasn’t too sure how my legs would feel. In the warm up I thought it will be what it will be and when I got there I just felt great and I kept going and I wore it.
“When I looked up and saw my time, I thought I couldn’t believe it.
“Every race I do I just want to be better than last time. When I got into this race today I just wanted to get a PB. A PB of one and a half seconds is pretty big, so I’m happy with that.”
The men’s individual pursuit was won by Aaron Gate, after he cleared an early deficit by beating compatriot Tom Sexton in an all-kiwi final.