By Shelby Brooks and Marcus Uhe
A number of local athletes have contributed to Australia’s table-topping haul of 178 medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which concluded on Monday 8 August.
Cranbourne’s Brooke Buschkuehl repeated her result at the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast, claiming silver in the women’s long jump final.
The 29-year-old’s leap of 6.95 metres fell just 5cm short of Nigeria’s Ese Brume, who set a new Commonwealth Games record with her 7m jump.
Coached by her dad, Russell Stratton, Buschkuehl entered the games in Birmingham in strong form, having finished fifth in the final of the World Athletics Championships in Oregon just weeks earlier.
Buschkuehl set the Australian record for women’s long jump with a 7.13m effort ahead of the 2022 World Championships, bettering her own record of 7.05m set in 2016.
In a social media post on Monday 8 August, Buschkuehl said she felt like she had won gold.
Knee surgery following last year’s Tokyo Olympics disrupted her preparation for the year ahead, as she only returned to jumping in April this year.
“I left Australia four-and-half-weeks ago hoping things would come together but there was a lot of uncertainty and a lot of doubt,” she said.
“I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I’d be back jumping at my best this season given where I have come from.
“I’ve got my family, friends, coach, medical team and husband to thank. Without them I most definitely wouldn’t be here.
“There have been so many moments this year I have felt so broken and questioned whether it was worth continuing. I’m so glad I did because moments like this make it all so bloody worth it!”
Narre Warren’s Rebecca Henderson, who attended Berwick College and is a past Berwick Little Athletics member, placed fourth in the 10,000m Race Walk with a time just outside her personal best.
In a trackside interview, the young athletics star beamed as she reflected on her efforts on day five of the Commonwealth Games.
“I’m pretty happy with that, it was a little bit warmer than we expected, nothing like the major comps we’ve had in Tokyo and Eugene,” she said.
“It was a lot of fun, and the crowd was absolutely amazing. The crowd was the biggest we’ve ever seen basically, it was so loud – the atmosphere was great.
“It was just so much fun.”
Keysborough’s Nathan Ephraums and Emerald’s Amy Lawton showed class and skill on the hockey pitch throughout the week in Birmingham.
Ephraums made his Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham as the youngest member of the Kookaburras squad.
The striker scored two goals in the Kookaburra’s gold medal match against India, helping secure the 7-0 victory.
After putting the ball in the back of the net for the second time in the match, commentator Alister Nicholson praised Epharums’ efforts.
“If you had asked me previously what I knew about Keysborough, I would have said it had a nice golf course, now I can tell you that’s where Natham Ephraums comes from,” he said.
Amy Lawton, who grew up in Emerald, has walked away with a silver medal after the Hockeyroos were bested by home side England 2-1 in a nail-biting final.
England had two goals against the Australian side right up until the last few minutes of the game, when the Hockeyroos finally added to the scoreboard, but there wasn’t enough time left to bring the game to a shoot out.
In the semi-final match against India, Lawton provided the Hockeyroos with the goal they needed to make it into the final during the drama filled shoot out.
