Mixed pair just miss bowls medal

New Zealand's visually impaired bowls mixed pair missed out on a medal in heartbreaking circumstances today.

The New Zealand team - Sonya Woodrow (with director Kimberly Carraher) and Kerrin Wheeler (with director Colin Wheeler) - were involved in a cliffhanger in their bronze medal play-off with Wales.

New Zealand took the first set 7-4,

but Wales came back strongly to win the second set 6-2 and force a one-end tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker seemed to be going Wales' way until Kerrin Wheeler drew beautifully and looked to have won the end.

However, Welsh skip Steffan James stepped up and drove magnificently, taking out the New Zealand bowl and leaving his team as winners of the end.

The New Zealanders, ecstatic moments earlier, were shattered - the medal had been snatched away. To their credit they regrouped and spoke in positive terms about the Games and their performance.

'It was gutting at the end,' Woodrow said. 'But I'm proud to place fourth and hopefully we'll be back in four years' time.'

Kerrin Wheeler said he thought his final bowl would be the winner and went from extreme joy to despair in a matter of seconds.

Later he spoke of what a tight-knit team they are. All four live in Dunedin, which gives them the opportunity to practise a lot together. Both Wheeler and Woodrow paid tribute to their directors. In Wheeler's case, it's his father Colin.

'We wouldn't be able to bowl without them,' said Woodrow. Looking at her director, Carraher, she said, 'They're like a rock, always there for us.'