Gen LaCaze reminisces about the time she stage bombed the closing ceremony at Commonwealth Games

WHEN the Olympic Games party gets underway at the opening ceremony, one Aussie athlete will be happily tucked away and inevitably fighting the urge to break into samba.

Gen LaCaze became a viral video sensation the last time Australia was involved in a major ceremony.

WHEN the snare drums and shakers blast and the Olympic Games party gets underway at the opening ceremony, one Aussie athlete will be happily tucked away and inevitably fighting the urge to break into samba.

Gen LaCaze became a viral video sensation the last time Australia was involved in a major ceremony — at the closing of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

She wandered onto the stage alongside Kylie Minogue and a bevvy of bare chested male dancers, twirling her flag with a goofy grin on her face, before being shuffled off by a floor manager.

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The impromptu dance was part mistake, part bravado, but totally Gen.

Now the good time girl has become the good times girl with 10 personal bests over multiple distances including her favoured steeplechase event this year. No matter how she performs you won’t see her back with another stage bomb at these Games.

She tells us why.

“The Commonwealth Games was a pretty good experience for me. It was a season coming back from a broken ankle and ran all right, coming fifth.

“But my boyfriend [and distance teammate] Ryan Gregson had a stress fracture in his femur. We didn’t know when he ran but we were all really upset with the performance. It was a bit of a downer and he found out his season was ended.

The infamous moment Gen Lacaze got on stage during the closing ceremony for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“For the closing ceremony we all got together. There was Johnny Steffensen, Fabrice Lapierre, Aaron Royle, and we were hanging out, trying to make the most of our last night at the Com Games.

“It was mixed emotions … It was my birthday that night and I’m encouraging everyone that we have to celebrate because I’m turning 25 blah, blah, blah but by the time anyone listened to me we realised we were the last people left in the athletes’ village.

“No people, no buses, just dead silence. We finally found the last remaining helper who tracked down a red double decker bus, put us on it and we were driven to the stadium in that.”

Because of the circumstances the group arrived “merry and excited”. Being late, they missed the briefing and were sent to wait in a tent in the centre of the running track and jump out when they heard music.

“We were giggling, with no idea what was going on,” said LaCaze.

“As soon as we jumped out of this tent we lost each other.

“It was insane it was like being at a festival. found myself closer and closer to the stage. I saw [teammates] Ben St Lawrence and Eloise Wellings and ran up to them.

“We were standing next to this low barrier that barely came up to my waste. Just a little fence, then there was the stage. At that point Jess Mauboy was up and singing and I said “this is really cool guys we should get up on the stage” and everyone’s like “no, we shouldn’t. I was insisting — “the stage is right there. We should all get up!”

“Most people were looking at me thinking I was crazy, but Ben and Eloise are in my training group so they know me well and they were saying “yeah, you should get up.”

Gen LaCaze in action in the women's 3000 metre steeplechase at the Australian Athletics Championships.

“Then Kylie Minogue comes on and everyone is singing and enjoying it and I said “I’m just going to go”. Eloise was like “really?” and I said yes … so she threw a little Australian flag to me and said “well take this”.

Up she went and 30 seconds later thought ‘what am I doing here and why is no one doing anything about it?’.

“I just winded in and out of this formation of topless men, waving a flag and I remember looking down and seeing Ben and Eloise. I couldn’t recognise anyone else, it was a huge stadium, and pitch black, and I looked down and was laughing thinking ‘how much longer do I have to do this for?’. Eventually some stage producer swept me off from the side. She was really nice: ‘Go back and find your country, love’.

“I ran back to everyone saying: Did you see me? Did you see me? They were like … “yeahhhh we saw you.”

“Ryan had gone off to get a drink and just returned after I got back down. I said “did you see me, I was on stage?” He said: “ what are you talking about … no you weren’t.”

It soon dawned on her that people were watching around the world.

“My phone didn’t have roaming but when I turned it on it went crazy. I was getting emails, Twitter, Facebook … a lot of producers wanting me on their shows.”

Gen LaCaze wins the 5000m at the Australian Athletics Championships.

She braced for the impact from the authorities, but there was litte if any.

“At the time I probably got away with it because there was a lot going on with the track and field team. And the next morning everyone just left. Your train or flight was booked …

“When I woke up the next day I thought “this is a lot bigger than I had imagined”. I ran to Ryan’s room said ‘get your stuff we’re going” and I put a big hat on.

“It was a lot of fun. I would say I’ve got no regrets, but I wouldn’t do it again. At the end of the day I had a few people not happy with my behaviour. I apologised to the Com Games association and let it be known that this is not something I wanted to be known for.”

Steffensen, now a board member with Athletics Australia says he’s pleased LaCaze’s crazy moment was taken the right way.

“I’m glad people saw the fun side of it because that’s what the games is about,” Steffensen says. “At the same time it wasn’t done in a disrespectful way. It was lucky it came across well and people embraced it.”

And Athletics Australia had a few issues after an embarrassing showdown between star athlete Sally Pearson and the team’s then coach.

“Yeah it was perfect timing for he,” says Steffensen. “They thought I was bad … look at Gen!”

Originally published as Gen LaCaze reminisces about the time she stage bombed the closing ceremony at Commonwealth Games