2014-07-31 13:56
If Zane Robertson did determine to hit the disco in party of his surprise bronze, he wouldn't have needed a change in footwear. The latest Kiwi to win a Commonwealth Games medal while wearing the famed black singlet added a little colour as he tore around the track inside Hampden Park, Scotland's national stadium.
On the left, the boot was lime green, seeming akin to something out of Usain Bolt's wardrobe.
The footwear would scarcely be out of place in among the bustling pubs in Glasgow central, swollen with Games traffic for the last several days. But Robertson - a well-spoken and, when not winning medals, rather reserved 24-year-old - is unfamiliar with that kind of surroundings. He is more at home in the Kenyan town of Iten, people 42,000, where he and Jake moved from Hamilton 17, taking with them small but of winning medals while wearing own at just the silver fern.
That aversion to such an animated societal scene meant Robertson intended to observe the "best day of his life" in more low-key style.
"Tonight I can party up, no issue. I have been sleeping the last 48 hours anyway," he said. "But I won't go to the disco or the club. I will likely be in the mess hall for a short time."
If, that is, they hold up to the strenuous training sessions that can resume as soon as the party ends.
"It was only a Nike layout from I'm not sure what year. I'm still without a contract but I am waiting on that - I believe this will help," he joked. "I have actually got some holes in the shoes - they are getting a little bit old."
Those shoes, those worn and torn and medal-winning shoes, reflect where Robertson has come from.
"Nowhere," was likely the consensu air jordans 11 retro. among Kiwi fans quizzed after his efforts in Glasgow. The men's 5000m was supposed to be about Nick Willis air jordan 5 black white.pursuing the 1500-5000 double with which he's been toying.
Another two in black, skinny as whippets and, luckily for commentators, readily distinguishable due to comparing hairstyles, were supporting players in the New Zealand story. That is not to say they were without intrigue, however.
In reality, the twins' narrative has been fascinating, or even the most reachable. They were not present from the track and field team's pre-Games training camp.
The low profile approach was far from a surprise. After all, if a Kiwi sportsman is looking to prevent the limelight, there aren't many areas on earth more effective than Kenya.
There was only one motivation, one that came steadfastly into focus on a grey Glasgow afternoon.
"This is what [Jake and I] dreamed of," Robertson said. "We had go to bed and we had dream of this. That is why we wake up to work challenging.
"Dreams are simply achieved with a plan - it becomes more of a goal. Simply to have this success today, it's simply the most joyful day of my life."
There have already been some hard days in the latter part of that life. Seven years without seeing his parents, sleeping rough in a little room shared with his brother - lots of athletes talk about forfeits but it'd be challenging to find many as singularly ascertained as the Robertsons.
"I have worked seven challenging years and in the early years in Africa I forfeited a lot. I don't see it that way anymore. I'm living the dream, travelling around the world and having complete pleasure living my life. Today, all those sacrifices I questioned initially, they have paid off."
The exact reasons the Robertsons chosen to make those sacrifices could be gleaned from one peek at the scoreboard following the 5000m rac air jordan australia.. Kenyans in fourth, second and first.
"[Caleb] Ndiku, the winner, he's likely the best in the world in 2013, and he is a close friend of mine from training back in Iten," Robertson said.
He dyed his hair reddish at the world inside and today it's gold."
Robertson's got a style of his own. It may be unconventional but, with brother Jake, it could see him in line to climb a few more podiums in years to come.
