Commonwealth Games: Day Nine wrap
England wadded three more gold medals to their haul at the close of the latest day of action on the Gold Coast. Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow won the men’s synchronised 10m platform in the diving pool, before Jack Laugher and Chris Mears followed up in the men’s synchronised 3m springboard.
On the track, Kat Johnson-Thompson won the women’s heptathlon, while her young pretender Niamh Emerson, 18 and from Derby, won bronze in her first Games as a senior athlete.
Scotland’s Gracie Reid won gold for her country in the women’s 1m springboard, while her compatriot Alex Marshall became his country’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete, winning gold as part of the lawn bowls men’s fours.
Wales enjoyed success too, with rhythmic gymnast Laura Halford taking silver in the hoop, while the slightly less elegant Kane Charig came second in the men’s -65kg wrestling. Northern Ireland markswoman Kirsty Barr took silver in the women’s trap shooting, while Wales’s Sarah Wixy got the bronze.
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That's more or less it for today
And so ends another day and night of Commonwealth Games action on the Gold Coast, where Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s gold in the heptathlon seems to be the big story of the day from an English point of view. Tom Daley’s army of admirers might beg to differ - along with his sidekick Daniel Goodfellow, he was victorious in the men’s synchronised 10m platform final.
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Diving: Men's Synchronised 3m Springboard Final
English duo Jack Laugher and Chris Mears have won gold quite comfortably from Canada’s Philippe Gagne and Francois Imbeau-Dulac. Australia’s Domonic Bedggood and Matthew Carter were third.
Women's Basketball semi-final
Australia have hammered New Zealand 109-50 in the second semi-final and will play surprise finalists England in the final.
Athletics: Women's 100m Hurdles Final
Nigeria’s Oluwatobiloba Amusan wins Nigeria’s first ever sprint gold in a time of 12.68sec (WR: 12.20sec), beating Jamaica’s Danielle Williams (12.78) and Yanique Thompson (12.97) into the minor places. It’s good news for Nigeria, but bad news for those of us who have to type words like “Oluwatobiloba” for a living.
Athletics: Women's Pole Vault Final
A tense, absorbing competition finishes with Canada’s Alysha Newman taking gold with a height of 4.75m. New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney was second and her compatriot Nina Kennedy was third. England’s Holly Bradshaw and Molly Caudery finished just outside the medals.
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Athletics: Women's Shot Put Final
Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd has won gold for Jamaica with a distance of 19.36m. New Zealand’s Valerie Adams was second and Canada’s Brittany Crew was third.
Athletics: Men's 10,000m Final
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei makes it double-gold after his earlier success in the 5,000m, beating Canada’s Mohammad Ahmed into second place once again. He smashes the Games record with a time of 27min 19.62sec, winning by just over a second after proving to strong for his rival in the home straight. Kenya’s Rodgers Kwemoi was third.
Kat Johnson-Thompson speaks ...
““I’m so happy. It’s been a long emotional two days but i’m glad it’s finally over,” she told the BBC in the wake of her gold medal win in the heptathlon. “I was nursing an injury going into day two. I’m just happy I made it over the line, there was no way I was stopping. Considering it’s only April, I’m really happy to get season best performances this early and come away for the gold. I feel like this Championships was mine, I was devastated to pull out four years ago in Glasgow but I’ve got two gold medals now and it’s more than I could ask for this early in the season.”
Athletics: Men's 10,000m Final
They’re plodding along gracefully in the men’s 10,000m, where Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei is leading a group of eight runners containing two more of his compatriots and A couple of Kenyans. Canada’s Mohammad Ahmed is also near the front.
Women's Pole Vault Final
The women’s pole vault has been going on all morning and England’s Holly Bradshaw is among the leaders who have cleared 4.50m so far.
Athletics: Women's 800m Final
Caster Semenya wins gold for South Africa with a totally dominant performance (and all the usual caveats), setting a Commonwealth Games record with her winning time of 1min 56.68sec. Kenya’s Margaret Wambui finished second andJamaica’s Natoya Goule came third.
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Diving: Women's 1m Springboard Final
- Gold: Grace Reid (Scotland)
- Silver: Georgia Sheehan (Australia)
- Bronze Esther Qin (Australia)
Hats off to Grace Reid, who wins the Women’s 1m Springboard Final and takes Scotland’s first ever Commonwealth Games diving medal. England’s Katherine Torrance is distraught after dropping out of the bronze medal position after a sloppy final dive in which she lost points for bending her legs.
Women's Basketball: England through to the final
There’s been an upset on court at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, where England’s women have qualified for the final with a surprise 65-53 win over Canada. They’ll play Australia or New Zealand in the final.
More on Niamh Emerson ...
The 18-year-old from Derby showed great guts to win bronze at her first appearance at the senior Commonwealth Games. It’s a real turning point for the young athlete as she makes the transition from the junior ranks. Emerson is in her first year of a psychology degree at Loughborough University.
Worrying scenes at the Women's Heptathlon
Having crossed the line to take gold, Kat Johnson-Thomson has broken down in tears. She looks very upset and I suspect they aren’t tears of joy. She’s got strapping on her right calf and she’s clutching it as if she’s done herself a mischief. She gets to her feet and limps around the track as the results are confirmed.
- Gold: Katarina Johnson-Thompson (England)
- Silver: Nina Schulz (Canada)
- Bronze: Niamh Emerson (England)
Update: KJT has now stopped crying and looks well enough to hobble her way around a lap of honour.
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Women's Heptathlon 800m
It’s unconfirmed, but English teenager Niamh Emerson does brilliantly to put in the eight or nine seconds she needs to rob Australia’s Celeste Mucci of the bronze medal with an emphatic win in the 800m. Katarina Johnson-Thompson does enough to take gold, while Canada’s Nina Schulz takes the silver.
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Sound the Kat Johnson-Thompson klaxon
The two heats of the women’s heptathlon 800m are coming up, the final discipline of an event led by England’s Katerina Johnson-Thompson. She doesn’t need to exert herself too much in this race - a 2min 10sec or possibly even slower will probably do her. KJT goes in the second heat, as does England’s Niamh Emerson, who will need to run a very, very fast time if she’s to nick bronze. They’ll soon be under starters orders.
Athletics: Men's T47 100m Final
Nigeria’s Suwaibidu Galadima has beaten England’s KJames Arnott into second place, with Jamaica’s Tevaughn Thomas taking the bronze in this sprint primarily for athletes with a below elbow or wrist amputation.
Women's Basketball semi-final
England’s 14-point dominance over Canada in the second quarter continues to make up most of the difference between the sides. It’s England 54-38 Canada going into the final quarter. There’s an upset on the cards here, with Canada ranked fifth in the world, more than 20 places higher than the UK, for whom England’s players usually represent.
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Athletics: Men's 3,000m Steeplechase
- Gold: Conselsus Kipruto (Kenya) 8min 10.07sec
- Silver: Abraham Kibiwott (Kenya)
- Bronze: Amos Kirui (Kenya)
Athletics: Men's 3,000m Steeplechase
Conseslus Kipruto wins the gold from his compatriot Abraham Kibiwott. Their fellow Kenyan Amos Kirui was third in a splendid race for bronze. It looked as if Matthew Hughes was going to come third and prevent a Kenyan one-two-three, but despite throwing himself at the line and coming within a half-second of his personal best time, he was just collared by Kirui. That’s Kenya’s sixth consecutive clean sweep in this event at the Commonwealth Games. You could tell it meant a lot to them, as Kipruto sacrificed his own time to turn and urge his fellow countrymen along in the home straight.
Athletics: Men's 3,000m Steeplechase
Amos Kirui leads the field followed by his fellow Kenyans Abraham Kibiwott and Conselsus Kipruto. They’re not having it all their own way at the bell, mind, as Canada’s Matthew Hughes is upsides them and the Kenyans don’t like it one bit.
Athletics: Men's 3,000m Steeplechase ...
The field are being introduced in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, where Kenya’s Conseslus Kipruto is hoping to add to his World and Olympic titles. His personal best of 8min 00.12sec was set at the Birmingham Diamond League event in 2016. From the gun, Kipruto and his compatriots Abraham Kibiwott and Amos Kirui take up position at the head of the field.
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Action getting under way in the track and field
After something of a lull with not much of interest going on (nine days of it, some would argue), the evening’s track and field entertainment is ready to begin at the Carrara Stadium. Here’s what we can look forward to ...
- Women’s Pole Vault final
- Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase final
- Men’s Discus Throw final
- Men’s T47 100m final
- Women’s Heptathlon 800m (heats one and two)
- Women’s Shot Put final
- Women’s 800m final
- Men’s 10,000m final
- Women’s 100m Hurdles final
Diving: Women's 1m Springboard Final
Bouncing and leaping headfirst into water is under way at the Aquatics Centre and England’s Alicia Blagg is the early leader, but there’s a long, long way to go.
Lawn bowls: Marshall becomes Scotland's most medally ...
Alex Marshall became the most successful athlete in Scotland’s Commonwealth Games history after leading his men’s fours team to a dramatic lawn bowls victory over hosts Australia on the Gold Coast.
Marshall and his team-mates Ronald Duncan, Derek Oliver and Paul Foster drew four shots on the final end to reverse a two-shot deficit and triumph 15-13, sealing his fifth career gold medal.
The 51-year-old Marshall, who also won a silver medal in the men’s pairs earlier in the Games, moves ahead of Allan Wells, who won four golds in a total of six Commonwealth Games medals between 1978 and 1982. Earlier, there was more success for Scotland as Claire Johnston and Lesley Doig won bronze in the women’s pairs with an 18-10 win over Canada.
Women's basketball semi-finals
England are currently taking on Canada in the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre with a place in the final up for grabs. England are bossing things on the court, leading 28-16 after two quarters. Hosts Australia will play New Zealand in the second semi-final later today.
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Relay pain for England ...
Defending champions England failed to qualify from their heat from the first heat of the men’s 4x400m relay after Wolverhampton born athlete Matt Hudson-Smith pulled up with a hamstring injury just 20 metres into the first leg and had to be helped from the track by his team-mates. On the BBC’s coverage, Michael Johnson is wondering whether or not Hudson-Smith, whose attitude and application have been questioned in the past, took his warm-up seriously. Anyway, he’ll be out for eight to 10 weeks now, which doesn’t bode well for his preparations ahead of August’s European Championships.
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Still to come from the Carrara Stadium
The rest of today’s track and field action begins in about an hour and here’s what’s on the menu ...
- Women’s Pole Vault final
- Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase final
- Men’s Discus Throw final
- Men’s T47 100m final
- Women’s Heptathlon 800m (heats one and two)
- Women’s Shot Put final
- Women’s 800m final
- Men’s 10,000m final
- Women’s 100m Hurdles final
Next stop ... Birmingham 2022
Gold Coast and Birmingham could hardly be more different as cities go but Commonwealth Games organisers on both sides believe there are plenty of lessons that will translate ahead of the 2022 Games in Britain’s second city.
As the 2018 Games go into their final weekend in the surfers paradise which is Australia’s Gold Coast, attention is beginning to turn to the next edition in the industrial and commercial surrounds of Birmingham, which saw off competition from Liverpool to host the 2022 edition after Durban, South Africa, was stripped of the Games.
Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has told his Birmingham counterparts the Games present an opportunity to change perceptions - whether that be Gold Coast’s transition from holiday destination to business centre or updating people’s ideas about Birmingham.
“It was an opportunity that knocked on the door and we absolutely utilised the spirit of the Commonwealth brand to enhance our city’s reputation,” Tate told PA Sport.
“We have now stepped up from being a regional city to a world city. Trades and businesses can see we’ve hosted the Commonwealth Games and we’re well equipped with infrastructure, you can come here and do business. We’ve hosted the third biggest mutli-sport event in the world so you don’t need to ask our credentials.”
It is a model Birmingham can follow, according to Steve Hollingworth, head of sport and events for Birmingham City Council. “The perception of Birmingham is a very industrial area, a grey miserable city, but that’s not the case,” he said. “It’s a very modern dynamic city of the world. But people need to see that so we need to get the city on the global stage. A 1.5billion television audience is really important.”
Birmingham landed the Games after Durban was stripped of hosting rights due to financial constraints.
While you were sleeping ...
It’s after 6pm on the Gold Coast, but if you’re just joining us for the first time in the UK this morning, here’s a summary of what happened overnight.
- Tom Daley and the other bloke led an England one-two in the 10m synchro diving. Matthew Dixon and Noah Williams took silver.
- Alex Marshall overtook Alan Wells to became the greatest athlete in Scotland’s Commonwealth Games history by takingMen’s Fours Gold Medal Matchthe bowls fours.
- Scotland’s women won bronze in the Women’s Pairs
- England beat Wales in the Men’s Fours bronze medal match
- England’s Robert Paxton won the Mens’ Singles bronze
- Wales’ Laura Halford wins hoop silver in the rhythmic gymnastics
- In shooting, Northern Ireland’s Kirsty Barr took silver in the women’s trap
- Welsh wrestler Kane Kharig won silver in the men’s 65kg
- England’s Charlie bowling took bronze in the men’s 65kg
- Katarina Johnson-Thomson leads the heptathlon with the 800m to come later this morning.
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Women's rugby sevens: Australia 34-5 Wales
Those rugby sevens results are coming in thick and fast. Australia have seen off Wales with a minimum of fuss in their Pool B match at the Robinha Stadium, scoring six tries in the process.
Women's rugby sevens: Fiji 5-17 England
England have got off to a winning start in the women’s rgby sevens, seeing off Fiji in a reasonably tight affair. Emily Scarratt, Deborah Fleming and Lydia Thompson got the tries for England, with Timaima Ravisa getting a consolation for Fiji.
Women's rugby sevens: New Zealand 45-0 Kenya
Anyone like me who’s ever played on a team that’s taken a pasting in a game of rugby sevens will know just how big that pitch can be when you’re chasing shadows and sympathise with the women of Kenya who’ve had to try to go toe to toe with their New Zealand counterparts. They’ve been absolutely battered in their Pool A match by a team that was far too good for them. Portia Woodman was the standout player for New Zealand, while Niall Williams grabbed herself a splendidly opportunistic try, chasing up to pounce as one of the Kenyans tried to shepherd the ball out over the dead-ball line. As the sister of All Black Sonny Bill Williams, Niall comes from a family with a fair amount of rugby pedigree. I wonder if she’s as handy as her brother in the boxing ring too?
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G'day everybody ...
Canada are pulling off quite the demolition job on South Africa in the women’s rugby sevens as I strap myself into the hot-seat. WIth just seconds left in the second half of their Pool A match at the Robina Stadium, the Canadians lead 29-0.
Indeed, that’s a result: Canada 29-0 South Africa, with 24 of the winning points coming in the first half. The Canadians scored five tries, with Charity Williams, Sara Kaljuvee, Hannah Darling, Caroline Crossley and Brittany Benn all crossing the line. Ghislaine Landry scored two conversions.
And as New Zealand take to the field against Kenya, I shall take my own humble bows. The one, the only, Barry Glendenning, stands poised and ready to shoulder arms here on the liveblog for Team Guardian.
Thanks for your company and don’t look away, as the day’s action is only just beginning on the Gold Coast!
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Rugby sevens – Canada draw first blood
And Canada have really thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the women’s field here – as they’ve raced to a 24-0 first half lead against South Africa.
Facing one of the favourites, Renfred Dazel’s side could ill-afford charity, Charity Williams that is, who was one of four try scorers in the opening stanza.
And Canada have opened how they started in the second half with some fine running rugby to land a fifth. They’ve been so consistent on the women’s sevens series where they’ve been reliably the third best team in the world behind Australia and New Zealand. Can they go one better here at Robina Stadium?
South Africa with a rare foray forward but they can’t make the passes stick out wide and Canada keep their line intact. 3 minutes to play here, with Sara Kaluvee getting through a power of work.
Canada grab a scrum against the feed – they’re really dominating at all aspects of the game. Megan Lukan busts through the guts, but is hauled down by some desperate South African defence. But it’s full-time: 29-0 as Canada win the inaugural match of rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games!
Diver Tom Daley speaks out
It’s been one of many laudable aspects to these Games with Gold Coast organisers working very hard to create an inclusive space inside the Athlete’s village and around the venues for LGBTI competitors.
Guardian’s own Martha Kelner caught up with England’s recent gold medallist, Tom Daley, speaking as an openly gay man in a context where participants from 37 competing nations still face anti-homosexual legislation.
More, here:
Rugby sevens – women’s preliminaries underway
It feels like one of the more anticipated events of these Games and we’re not too far away from a first kick in anger at the women’s rugby sevens, which makes its Commonwealth Games debut in around.. two minutes time!
First up is Canada v South Africa – no slouches here the North Americans, they did, as you’ll recall finish with the bronze at Rio 2016.
And 47 seconds in, we have our first points of the Game – an error by the South Africans enables Canada to overload their right flank, and they send their winger, Caroline Crossley over. No conversion, 5-0 the score.
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Boxing semifinals
A wrap of the day’s boxing bouts, where there have been plenty of bronze medals awarded, with our gold medal stoushes still to come.
England’s Lisa Whiteside and Northern Ireland’s Carly McNaul have advanced in the women’s 51kg division, with England’s Paige Murney and Australia’s Anja Stridsman set to square off in the 60kg final.
Good news also for England’s Galal Yafai and India’s Amit (so good they named him once) in the <50kg division, with compatriot Gaurav Solanki and Northern Ireland’s Brendan Irvine set to face in the 52kg final.
It’s India again advancing in the 60kg class, where Manish Kausik will face Australia’s Harry Garside, while Jonas Jonas (so good they named him twice) of Namibia has advanced to face Canada’s Thomas Blumenfeld in the 64kg final.
Finally, it’s an all-antipodean slugfest in the 91kg bout as New Zealand’s David Nyika is set to face Australia’s Jason Whateley.
So a fair mix of nations in the hunt for boxing gold, with the weight of a nation on the shoulders of Jonas Jonas as he chases just Namibia’s fourth ever Games gold.
A recap on where we’re at in the women’s heptathlon, where there’s been a lot of interest not just in the form of favourite Katarina Johnson-Thompson, but also the two local hopes Alysha Burnett who has been battling a hamstring injury picked up in the 200m, and youngster Celeste Mucci.
Don’t forget England lost Katie Stainton in disastrous circumstances less than five seconds into the entire event as she fell heavily in the 110m hurdles, but with two events conducted today KJT appears to have all but secured the gold.
She blew away her competitors with a 6.50m mark in the long jump, an effort that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the stand-alone women’s final, before only conceding 130 points in her less fancied event of javelin.
Nina Schultz of Canada finished second in the long jump and fifth in the javelin, with Mucci third and sixth to maintain their positions of second and third on the provisional podium. Burnett with the longest throw in the javelin to keep pace at fifth overall, but she may face difficulty with her hamstring once more in the 800m.
If successful in tonight’s last event it will be some statement of intent from KJT who revealed she was emotionally ‘burnt out’ after winning gold at the world indoor games last month.
In their own words
Cyprus gymnast Diamanto Evripidou says she arrived at the Gold Coast hoping to win a medal. Job done, eh?
“I came here to win one medal only, and I have six,” the 18-year-old said. “I will work a lot to reach my goals, and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is one of them.”
And also this, from England’s Tom Daley after his win alongside Daniel Goodfellow in the men’s 10m synchronised diving, after overcoming a hip injury that forced him to withdraw from the individual event.
“I know I’ve won medals in the past but it’s been a smoother journey to get to those competitions whereas this has been a really rough and rocky ride,” he told the BBC.
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And while we catch our collective breath from that high drama (TM), let’s sneak around the grounds:
It’s been a display of shuttlecock by the Adcock’s as England’s duo Chris and Gabrielle have beaten the Australian pair in the badminton mixed doubles quarterfinals.
We’ve got semifinals underway in the men’s 64kg boxing where Canada’s Thomas Blumenfeld appears to be shading Ghana’s Jessie Lartey.
In the women’s hockey 5th place match it’s Canada also enjoying a lead over African opposition in the form of South Africa – they lead 2-0 with a quarter to play, thanks to Shanlee Johnson and Madeleine Secco’s first stanza goals. A reminder the men’s semifinals will take place later tonight (local) with Australia facing England, and India locking horns with New Zealand.
On the greens of Broadbeach, England have beaten Wales for the bronze medal in the men’s lawn bowl fours, while there’s another antipodean battle going down in the men’s squash doubles quarterfinals with Australia and New Zealand deep in the third set.
And for seemingly the first time I’ve been in this chair, I can happily report, that is actually everything that’s happening right now!
So much so that local broadcaster Channel 7 has taken us to an extended press conference announcing their network’s coup in pinching free-to-air cricket from rivals Channel 9. Saucer of milk, anyone?
Men's fours gold medal match – last end drama!
Wowee. We’ve had a very tight measure from the umpire, with both teams appearing confident of a one-ball lead. From my uninformed eye I thought that was the Scots’ point, but a roar goes up, it’s awarded to the host nation and they take a 13-11 lead into the last end. As they say, it’s a game of millimetres!
Great battles within battles here, don’t forget it was two of the Scottish four here, Ronald Duncan and Derek Oliver, who beat three of the Australians here for gold in the men’s triples. The other two Scots picked up silver in the men’s pairs so some real bowls pedigree here.
Huge roar from the engrossed home crowd here as Australia’s lead Barrie Lester drops his first ball right on the jack. But with the stakes incredibly high Scotland’s Oliver, bowling second, has fired a two-point turnaround; can they lock it up?!
There are five balls left to fire, with Scotland three to throw. Can they add a third and pull of a remarkable turnaround to snatch gold?!
Marshall drops one more in; it’s a potential three-pointer – but have they left themselves open to a drive? Sherriff fires, but he’s only cleaned out a screening Australian bowl!
Marshall drops another in – learned bowls experts would rightly point out that he’s only doubled the potential target for a cleanout; has he thrown it away?
But would you believe it – Sherriff’s missed with a second drive, and Scotland land a four pointer! With the final end, they’ve turned this all around to win 15-13! Remarkable action. And what a Games this is turning into for the Scottish bowls team!
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Meanwhile, we’ve got a sneaky little ding-dong battle brewing over at Broadbeach Bowls Club where it’s Australia and Scotland trading blows in the men’s fours gold medal match.
We join the coverage 12 ends in where it’s the host nation leading 12-10, with four balls (two each) to come.
Having jumped to a 8-2 lead after four ends the Australian team of Barrie Lester, Brett Wilkie, Nathan Rice and Aron Sherriff have seen some tenacious bowling from the Scots; and as we speak, they’ve reversed a potential two-pointer here for Australia into one of their own. That’s four of the last five ends to Scotland; what a finish we have in store here!
In addition to the one-woman nation Diamanto Evripidou here’s a rundown of what other medals have already been claimed this morning:
It’s an Indian one-two in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions, as Tejaswini Sawant continues her fine form, with compatriot Anjum Moudgil grabbing the silver ahead of Scotland’s Seonaid McIntosh.
Gold for India also in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol where the remarkable fifteen-year-old Anish (so good they named him once) has held off local favourite Sergei Evglevski with a games record performance. He was flawless after two attempts, instantly doubling the scores of four of his five rivals. What a future lies ahead, at such a tender age!
Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
It’s been a terrific day for Malaysia as well, with Evripidou unable to take ALL the medals in the rhythmic gymnastics, the Malay duo of Sie Yan Koi and Kwan Dict Weng have helped themselves to gold, two silvers and two bronzes. Their women’s pair lawn bowls team have also grabbed gold over at Broadbeach, relegating South Africa and Scotland to the minors.
Finally, it’s been a powerful display from England in the men’s synchronised 10m platform diving with Thomas Daley and Daniel Goodfellow just shading compatriots Matthew Dixon and Noah Williams in a synchro one-two. Australia with the bronze but they really have dominated the diving boards have England. Chapeau!
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And let’s take a look at the latest medal tally where the big movers appear to be Cyprus, off the back of a phenomenal day’s work from their unbelievable rhythmic gymnast Diamanto Evripidou.
With four gold, one silver and a bronze – claiming a medal in every event she entered – the pocket rocket would be sitting 13th in the Commonwealth if she had entered as an stand-alone nation.
She joins England’s gymnast Nile Wilson (four gold and two silver) and Australian swimmer Mitch Larkin (five gold) in rarified company, with four of those medals coming in the last 24 hours.
As an aside – when you split the medals of the leading nations by gender some very curious things leap out. Australia’s men and women have thirty each (with three coming from mixed-gender teams), England fifteen and thirteen respectively, and India’s sexes both pulling their weight with six and eight gold each.
But Canada, you ask? 92% of their gold have come from female athletes, prompting the very real question: what has happened to Canadian men?
Send your entries to “What has happened to Canadian men” care of the nearest local post office etc etc. Until I hear otherwise I will hold full-time heartthrob and part-time politician Justin Trudeau personally responsible; he’s apparently emasculated an entire nation.
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Welcome to day nine
Kia ora koutou – welcome to day nine of the Commonwealth Games!
If you missed yesterday’s action there was another strong showing for the host nation, spearheaded by the amazing Ken Hanson, a first-time medallist at the age of 68. There was the highest of high drama in the men’s 200m final, and a heart-warming/breaking tale as British Virgin Islands claimed it’s first ever gold.
There’s a nice sneak peak at Australia’s women’s rugby sevens team, eager to defend their Rio gold and a fine write-up of the irrepressible Jack Laugher in the diving.
As always, feel free to shoot any quips, tangential stories or corrections to join the coverage – via the email or twitter account outlined above. But first, a look at what’s in store today.
Coming up
Here’s what’s still to come on day nine. Remember, all times are local – the Gold Coast is GMT +10:00 and EST +14:00.
It’s hotting up in many of the team events, and we start with Canada and South Africa battling for fifth in the women’s hockey.
At 3pm local there are medals on offer in the women’s shooting trap final, before men’s hockey takes centre stage as Scotland and Malaysia lock horns, also for fifth.
Rugby sevens makes its long-awaited start from 4.30pm with eight matches in the women’s preliminaries, before the medals continue in table tennis and wrestling, as well as lawn bowls where the men’s singles bronze and gold medal matches take centre lawn from 5.30pm.
All of that in the ‘lull’ part of the day before athletics, diving, hockey and basketball renew again in anger. It’s Commonwealth Games, it’s happening live, and it’s coming at you like two South African sprinters when everyone told you Yohan Blake would win.
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