In Memory of a Mother

Auckland weightlifter Stanislav Chalaev won a silver medal in the under-15kg class at the 21 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Russian-born Chalaev lifted 15kg in the snatch and 184kg in the clean and jerk. The result was a fitting reward for Chalaev whose mother Larissa Reid passed away last year leaving him with no family in New Zealand. “I was happy that I had come away with a medal and I was thanking my mum for giving me a bit of a lift, you know,” Chalaev said when asked about what he was thinking on the dais. Aucklander Richard Patterson also won a silver medal, in the 85kg class, lifting a New Zealand record of 15kg. Other medal winners won include a bronze for champion middle-distance runner Nick Willis in the 15m; a silver in the men’s javelin for Stuart Farquhar; two silver medals for runner Nikki Hamblin in the women’s 15m and 8m; and a silver for Denmark-born cyclist Linda Villumsen in the women’s road time trial.