Australian bowls player Aaron Wilson was so ecstatic with his latest victory he took off his shirt and leapt into the crowd to celebrate. The 30-year-old sealed a commanding 21-3 victory over Northern Ireland’s Gary Kelly to achieve his second 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal on Saturday.
He jumped for joy before ripping off his shirt and throwing it into the crowd as the Aussie supporters cheered him on. He was then pulled up into the audience and shared a moment with team members and supporters before making his way back down to the lawn.
“I never really thought about it that way but yeah I think it was always going to happen if it went that way," Wilson said about his wild celebrations.
Wilson made history by becoming the first bowls athlete to successfully defend his Commonwealth title since England’s David Bryant won gold in four consecutive Games between 1962 and 1978. The Cabramatta local was quick to assert his authority from the outset, racking up 12 points before Kelly responded at the 12th end with a point.
However, Kelly’s efforts were not enough to dethrone Wilson who ran away with the contest, but mentioned he only had one regret after the win. “I wish I had a better rig, but that’s life,” Wilson said after ripping off his shirt and jumping for joy in a repeat of his celebrations on the Gold Coast four years ago. "I certainly was pretty happy with my performance.”
The legendary bowls star has made 199 appearances in green and gold colours, where his debut dates back to 2016. Wilson won his maiden Commonwealth Games gold in front of his home crowd soil in 2018, beating Canadian Ryan Bester 21-14 in the final.
He is also the current World Outdoor champion with Brett Wilkie in the pairs competition, which they won in 2016 and have yet to defend it after the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVD-19.
Kristina Krstic and Ellen Ryan took gold on women's pairs in what was a memorable final day of bowls action for Australia. They finished top of the bowls medal table, with three gold medals and three silvers from 11 disciplines.
