It couldn’t have been scripted any better.
A day after an epic overtime win over England in the semis, Logan’s Kurt Thomson was again on form to help the Australian Wombats to a historic 11-9 gold medal victory over Canada at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
It wasn’t just a golden finish to a dramatic competition, but a fairytale ending 12 years in the making for the 40-year-old debutant, who will retire with a gold medal hanging around his neck.
“I’ve been really pushing hard since 2019 to make the Australian team and it was just a surreal experience getting to put the Australian gear on for the first time, I couldn’t be prouder,” he said.
“It was my first and last game for Australia– I’m now going to retire. It’s been an unreal ride, and I couldn’t be more pleased to finish my career on such a massive high.”
The wheelchair basketball star from Greenbank, who was among the first athletes to compete in the brand new 3×3 format on the world stage, said his experience at the games was everything he had hoped for.
“There was a massive crowd that was super loud and hyped– it was just incredible,” he said.
“When the siren finally went off, it was a mixture of just immense pride and also a bit of relief. It was high pressure, but they do say high pressure makes diamonds.
“At that moment I was thinking mostly about my family at home; my son and my wife who have been massive supporters throughout the whole thing, so I was a bit in my feelings.”
While winning felt sweet, getting there was anything but easy.
After beating Canada in the opening match 13-11, Thomson and his teammates; Lachlin Dalton, Luke Pople and Jake Kavanagh, fell to Northern Ireland resulting in a three-way tie in group B. The Australians met England in the semi-final and the game was on a knife’s edge until the final moments when the Wombats clinched the host country 12-11.
Mr Thomson, who has played consistently at a national level for over 10 years for the Queensland Spinning Bullets, said Australian basketball has always been known for its “dogged defence” and that’s what got the team through.
“Our coach, Nick (Such), put together a defensive and offensive plan specifically for England and Canada and it worked a treat. And we threw different things in both games, so we made sure that nothing we did was predictable,” he said.
“We made sure that every time our opponent touched the ball, they had a chair on them.”
Thomson said he hopes the side have laid a platform for future athletes for the 3×3 format and inspired up-and-comers to push hard to achieve their dreams.
“At this stage 3×3 is not not listed as an event for Melbourne in four years. Following the popularity of it and how well it has been received over there and back home, hopefully they include it– I think it would be a real shame not to.”
“There’s a lot of guys like myself that weren’t the most naturally gifted players, but I worked hard every day to improve just 1% every training session.
“You’ve just got to keep at it and you can achieve your dreams. At age 14, I never anticiated I’d be wearing a gold medal singing the anthem, so just look at what can happen.”
