XVIII Commonwealth Games-Agricole misses out on 53-kg podium |18 March 2006

Inside the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on Friday, Agricole, who at 17 years old was the youngest of the five competitors, finished the 53-kg division contest with the same total – 152kg – as bronze medallist Jehan Nadeene Latif, but settled for fourth position after too many failed lifts.

Agricole, Young Female Athlete of the Year 2004, failed her first snatch lift of 65kg but was successful in her second before lifting 67kg in her third attempt.

In the clean and jerk component of the 53-kg division, she lifted 85kg at the second attempt and then asked for the bar to be loaded at 90kg as she went all out for the bronze medal.

But she failed her third and last attempt and had to settle for an Olympic total of 152kg.
Like Agricole, Australian Latif finished with 152kg (66kg in snatch and 86kg in clean and jerk) for the bronze medal.

Canadian Maryse Turcotte took the gold medal after snatching 80kg and recording 105kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 188kg.

The silver medal went to Dika Loa Toua of Papua New Guinea with a total of 181kg (78kg in snatch and 103kg in clean and jerk).

It must be noted that on Day One of the Games, Julie Matatiken finished eighth out of nine participants in the 48-kg division with an Olympic total of 125kg (55kg in snatch and 70kg clean and jerk).

In swimming in the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre pool on Friday, again no Seychelles record was improved.

Steven Mangroo was placed second in the three-man 200m freestyle heat number one in a time of 2:02.68.

Mangroo, who was sixth in heat number one of the 400m freestyle in a time of 4:17.41, again failed to come anywhere close to Kenny Roberts record of 1:54.29 set during the Fifth Indian Ocean Islands Games in Reunion in 1998.

In the 50m butterfly, Bertrand Bristol clocked 27.85 seconds to take fourth place out of eight participants in heat number two. With this performance, Bristol did not trouble Jean-Paul Adam’s standing record of 26.57 seconds.

It is worth noting that on Day One (Thursday), Bristol finished way off his 200m butterfly record of 2:09.07 set at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 2004, He clocked 2:12.86 to take seventh place out of as many participants in heat number two.

Seychellois athletes in action this weekend

Weightlifting at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre
Romeo Simeon in the 69-kg division on Saturday March 18

Badminton at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre
Seychelles v/s Trinidad and Tobago in pool D on Saturday March 18

Boxing at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre
Jovet Jean in the 75-kg (middleweight) division on Saturday March 18
Patrick Camille in the +91-kg (super heavyweight) division on Sunday March 19
Alvin Gabriel in the 69-kg (welterweight) division on Sunday March 19

Swimming at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre
Shrone Austin – 800m freestyle on Saturday March 18
Adrian Nanty – 100m freestyle on Saturday March 18
Bertrand Bristol – 100m butterfly on Sunday March 19

Athletics at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Lindy Leveau-Agricole in the women’s javelin throw on Sunday March 19

G. G.