On a night when cyclist Josh Duffy stole all the accolades on the track, it would be easy to forget the woodchopping feats of Amanda Beams.
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The 47-year-old matriarch of the Winkleigh sawing family of husband Dale and sons Daniel and Zack had entered the underhand world title as the overwhelming favourite.
Injured American Martha King withdrew defending the championship helped a bit.
But Beams was not underselling the feat after the heartbreak of close second places twice in past years.
“It would have been nice if Martha was there, but that wasn’t to be,” she said.
“But they’re all-comers – they’re coming next year.”
The fact that the win came at the Silverdome made it more special than defeats on the mainland and in the US.
“To win a world title in your home country and also your home state is just great,” Beams added.
After turning first ahead of her seven rivals, Beams was far from a sure thing.
She had barely finished her cut three seconds ahead of Maddie Kurley with Lucy Backhouse capturing third.
But a nervous slip off the log to the floor one chop away from the world title had many hearts in their mouths.
“You rely on your balance to keep you there,” she said.
“I drove it and I thought, ‘it’s not quite off’ and I had to give it another. So I got back there and made sure of it.”
Beams will continue her great start to the Christmas carnivals amid defending the world Jack and Jill crown with her husband in Burnie.
“Here in front of your home crowd it’s a very special time when we travel all over the world, all over Australia competing,” she said.
Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
