More gold as Joe Fraser battles through pain
Joe Fraser might no longer have a perfect Birmingham 2022 record but you would never guess it from his smile.
The 23-year-old yesterday grabbed his second gold medal of the Games by winning on the pommel horse and though he later had to settle for fourth in the rings final, his chance to make history remains alive.
Fraser, still battling through the pain of a broken foot, could today become the first English male gymnast to win four golds at a Commonwealth Games when he competes in the parallel and horizontal bar finals.
Team-mate Jake Jarman could also achieve the same feat when he goes in the vault final but Fraser played down any suggestion of a friendly rivalry between the pair.
The former Sandwell Academy pupil said: “We are taking every day as it comes. There is a lot to do before we come to that (winning four golds).
“I am just going to enjoy what I have done today and what we have done as a team. We go again tomorrow and see what we can achieve.”
Fraser, who won gold together with Jarman in Friday’s team final, dedicated his pommel horse gold to reigning Olympic champion and GB team-mate Max Whitlock, who is not competing in Birmingham. “That medal was for Max,” he said. “I am really happy with that. To deliver a routine in a pommel final is difficult enough in itself. To walk away as a champion, I am over the moon.
“Max sent me a message just which said: ‘OMG, you legend’. He told me just to stay relaxed and enjoy your time on the pommel, being out there and competing.
“It is a home crowd, everyone is behind me so I just swung it the best way I could.
“I try not to think about pressure. I try to just enjoy the moment. We don’t get many opportunities. Being out there in front of a home crowd. Every moment I am out there, I am soaking it in.”
Though Fraser had qualified with the best mark, Northern Ireland’s former world bronze medallist Rhys McClenaghan was favourite for gold. But Fraser, once more given a rapturous reception at Arena Birmingham, piled the pressure on his rival with a fine performance, his score of 14.833 nearly a quarter of a point better than his qualifying mark.
McClenaghan, the next man up, began strongly but paid the price for a tiny mistake and his score of 14.133 was only good enough for silver. Whitlock, analysing the event for the BBC, later questioned whether his rival had attempted too simple a routine.
Fraser’s celebration when victory was confirmed was understandably muted, with the rings final barely half-an-hour away.
Yet he still had to go through the pomp and circumstance of the medal ceremony, before being able to fully refocus. Ultimately, his performance on the rings fell below that of Friday’s qualifying attempt and was only good enough for fourth. Even then, England team-mate Courtney Tulloch ensured the host nation’s dominance at Birmingham Arena continued by taking gold.
“I wanted to go out there and enjoy myself,” said Fraser of the rings final. “Courtney is the real beast of the team, so I was his hype man I did everything I could to make him feel amazing. For him to walk away with the gold, it feels like I’ve walked away with the gold. I’m proud of him and to come fourth in a Commonwealth Games when I’m not a ring specialist, I’m very happy with that.”
