The Men’s Triples Lawn Bowls team claimed the first ever Scottish medal in the event in spectacular style against Australia at Broadbeach Bowls Club.
Darren Burnett, Ronnie Duncan and Derek Oliver were neck and neck with the hosts for most of the game, only claiming a definite lead in the 17th end which they capitalised on and bowled out to win in the 18th.
The men played two games back-to-back today; first defeating Norfolk Island 20-8 this morning to claim their spot in the final; and then beating the home nation in a nail-biting game which ended 19-14.
Skip Burnett cracked a broad smile as he played his last bowl, claiming three more points and a comfortable win for himself and his teammates.
Darren, currently taking part in his fifth Commonwealth Games, and winner of the gold medal for Men’s Singles and Fours at Glasgow 2014, said: “It’s an amazing feeling to win. Australia’s Men’s Triples is an absolutely class team and we knew the final was going to be tough – but it’s probably the very final that everyone here wanted to see.
“It came down to a couple of big bowls for us at just the right time, and it really could have gone either way… I’m just glad it went our way!
“The crowd have been great. They’ve been so noisy and supportive – even though they were shouting for Australia in the final they were still very fair which is encouraging. We had some incredible Scottish support out here with us and they were with us the whole way so that was great. Our sport is a quiet one, so the crowds really give that amazing atmosphere which just can’t be beaten.”
“When we won, I almost did a high jump! But don’t worry, I’m not going to aim to compete for that in 2022 – I’ll stick to bowls for now.”
Later in the day, reigning Commonwealth Games Pairs champions, Alex Marshall and Paul Foster sailed through their semi-final against Malta, winning 18-8. The Men’s Pairs will take on Wales tomorrow in the final at 09:00hrs (00:00 UK time), which will decide whether they end the competition with a gold or silver medal.
In other preliminary games of the day, Scotland’s Mixed B2/B3 Pairs beat New Zealand 23-5, and the B6/B7/B8 Open Triples took on England and were defeated 10-18. Both teams will be in action tomorrow for their last preliminary games with the Mixed Pairs playing Australia at 12:25hrs (03:15hrs UK time), and the Open Triples playing South Africa at 20:00hrs (11:00hrs UK time).
The preliminary rounds for Women’s Pairs, Men’s Fours, Women’s Triples, and Men’s Singles will also get underway.
Mark Dry claimed Team Scotland’s first Athletics medal of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games as he repeated his bronze medal winning performance from Glasgow 2014 with a phenomenal last round throw.
With the Men’s Hammer the first track and field event of the Games, the Carrara Stadium was packed and the crowd were treated to what will undoubtedly be one of the events of the Games. It was a cagey start all round, with eventual gold and silver medallists Nick Miller and Matty Denny having to pull it out of the bag in round three just to make the cut.
Dry however grew in confidence as the competition unfolded, opening with 69.00m to make sure he would get the full six throws. In the fourth round he improved to 70.78m, and despite still sitting outside the medals the man from Burghead was starting to believe.
It was here that the magic started to happen, Englishman Nick Miller breaking the British and Commonwealth Games record with an unbelievable 80.26m effort. Dry was still out of the medals despite a further improvement to 71.34m in the fifth round, so it would all hinge on his final throw.
A seasoned championship performer, Dry stepped up when it mattered most, launching the hammer out to 73.12m, his best throw for two years to win bronze.
Dry has had hip surgery twice in the past couple of years and was on crutches as recently as December, but that last round throw had him leaping around in ecstasy. Dry memorably wore his kilt to the medal ceremony after bronze at Hampden and he had the Team Scotland Gold Coast tartan attire back on over his shorts when he stepped onto the podium today.
“I can’t believe what’s just happened – that was the best competition of my life! Every round I just built and built and built. The fifth round was good but it was just short of the medals so I knew the last round would take something special. I was going to leave it all out there and I did it!
“It’s been a long career and I’ve never been the most talented, but I’m a fighter. Getting bronze in Glasgow was a massive high, especially given there was huge pressure and then since the Olympics in 2016 I’ve had two hip surgeries. That’s the furthest I’ve thrown by far since coming back from the surgeries; I just can’t believe I’ve managed to pull it off – it’s a dream come true.”
Chris Bennett had come into the event in strong form, with wins in two warm-up competitions in Australia, throwing over 74m. But, as it transpired, his first throw of 65.22m was the best of his three and that would prove insufficient to make the cut for the top eight athletes.
The other Scot in action on the opening afternoon was Amy Carr, who finished seventh in the F38 Long Jump with a best leap of 3.65m. Carr, who is an F37 athlete, was competing up a class and commented: “That was such an amazing experience to be here and jump in that competition. It didn’t quite go as I hoped in terms of the jumps and the sequence but to compete against athletes from around the world is something I will learn from. Team Scotland have been brilliant to me and I have enjoyed it so much I don’t want to go home!”
Tomorrow will see a number of athletes in action in qualifying rounds, whilst Beth Potter will make history when she goes in the Women’s 10,000m final at 20:35hrs (11:35hrs UK time), becoming the first athlete to compete in two different sports at a single Games.
There was a medal rush for Team Scotland on day four of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games with swimmer Duncan Scott becoming the most decorated athlete for Scotland at a single Games. He became the first Scot to win the prestigious Men’s 100m Freestyle, before taking bronze in the 4x200m Freestyle to end the Games with five medals (1 gold, 4 bronze).
Over at the Anna Meares Velodrome there was more success for Team Scotland’s cyclists with Mark Stewart’s stunning gold medal in the Men’s Points Race the highlight of the night. A silver medal for Neah Evans in the Women’s Scratch Race and a bronze medal for Callum Skinner in the Men’s 1000m Time Trial sees Scotland finish second on the track medal table with 10 medals (4 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze).
Earlier in the day, a mid-afternoon flurry had set the tone for another strong day; starting with a first ever medal for the Men’s Triples in Lawn Bowls, winning gold against Australia in an epic match at Broadbeach Bowls Club.
A second bronze medal of the Games for Dan Purvis came in the Men’s Floor Final, before Mark Dry claimed bronze in the Men’s Hammer on the first day of Athletics at the Carrara Stadium.
The eight medals won today see Scotland end the day fifth in the medal table on 23 (6 gold, 7 silver, 10 bronze).
For full details see the individual feature pieces on Lawn Bowls, Gymnastics, Athletics, Cycling and Swimming.
Basketball
Team Scotland continued their unbeaten run in Pool B of the Men’s Basketball competition on Sunday evening with a 96-81 win over India, as Nick Collins led the way with 16 points. The result confirmed Scotland as Pool B winners with the side now advancing to the Qualifying Finals in Cairns.
Speaking after the game, Collins said: “We are all focused on the same goal as a team and we know what we are here to do. Reaching the next stage of the competition has always been part of our plan but I don’t think that we are done yet. It’s now about recovering well and getting ready to go again in Cairns.”
Beach Volleyball
Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts faced a strong Australia pair in the final preliminary pool match. The Scots pair made their opponents fight for every point, but eventually lost the match 2-0. They still have a chance of making the quarter finals; but must wait for results to go their way in the final pool matches tomorrow.
Boxing
Megan Gordon was first up in the ring at Oxenford Studios today against the formidable, five-time World Champion MC Kom. Despite causing the Indian fighter problems throughout, the unanimous decision went against her. The fight between Robbie McKechnie and Canadian Thomas Blumenfeld went the same way with the Light Welterweight unable to control the fight and take the win.
In the evening session, John Docherty put in a professional performance to see off the strong Cypriot fighter Andreas Kokkinos with a unanimous points decision. Speaking after the fight John said: “I’m feeling really good. I’m looking forward to the next one. My feet are getting better and better and I’m ready.”
Tomorrow at Oxenford Studios Sean Lazzerini gets his competition underway against the home favourite Clay Waterman at 14:32hrs (5:32hrs UK time). In the evening session Reece McFadden faces Keevin Alicock of Guyana at 19:17hrs (10:17hrs UK time); before Nate Collins takes on Colan Caleb of Nauru at 20:02hrs (11:02hrs UK time).
Hockey
Scotland’s men faced a tough match against Australia – currently the number one ranked outdoor team in world hockey. The host nation came out strong in the first period, taking a 4-0 lead; and despite some strong play from Scotland in the second half the game ended 6-1.
Team Scotland’s women play Ghana tomorrow at 16:30hrs (07:30hrs UK time).
Shooting
The Shooting competition got underway today at the Belmont Shooting Centre with Caroline Brownlie and Jess Liddon in action in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol Qualification event. With the top eight proceeding to the final, the pair finished 18th and 13th respectively.
After the competition, Jess said: “It’s my first Games and as Shooting is such a mental sport, I thought I was in a good place going in. There’s nothing quite like competing for Scotland at a Commonwealth Games. I’ve performed a lot better, and I’ve performed a lot worse. There were some really solid bits and a few mistakes but I’m happy with where I was.”
Aedan Evans competes in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol tomorrow at 09:00hrs (00:00hrs UK time); the Queen’s Prize Pairs gets underway for Ian Shaw and Sandy Walker at 10:00hrs (01:00hrs UK time); and the McIntosh sisters, Jennifer and Seonaid shoot in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle up against a world-class field at 11:00hrs (02:00hrs UK time).
Squash
Competing in the Men’s Singles Classic Plate Final, Kevin Moran took to the court against Micah Franklin of Bermuda. In keeping with his form over the past couple of days, Kevin won 3-0, which sets him up nicely going into the mixed doubles, which starts on Tuesday 10 April.
Weightlifting
Sydney based Scot, Scott Wilson, produced a brilliant performance in the final of the Men’s 94kg category, accumulating a total of 311kg to finish a splendid seventh. After snatching 142kg, just 3kg shy of his personal best, Wilson went on to clean and jerk a new lifetime best of 171kg to finish above his pre-event ranking.
In a thrilling night of action at the Optus Aquatics Centre, Duncan Scott became Scotland’s most decorated swimmer at a single Commonwealth Games, winning gold and bronze in the 100m Freestyle and 4x200m Freestyle, to add to the three bronze he won earlier in the Games.
His gold medal came in a sensational 100m Freestyle final, where once again Scott showed his power and speed at the back end of the race. Turning in 6th place Duncan shot through the field, timing his charge to perfection to take the first ever gold by a Scottish athlete in this event, with a time of 48.02 and beating the Olympic Champion and home crowd favourite, Kyle Chalmers (Australia) in the process.
A jubilant Scott said: “I’m absolutely delighted. Today was about executing my own race and doing the job I knew that I could do and put in a performance that would deliver. There are so many different ways of swimming the 100m Freestyle as you could see in that final. I just focused on what I know I’m good at and bring it back strong.”
Later in the evening Scott lined up alongside Stephen Milne, Dan Wallace and Mark Szaranek in the 4x200m Freestyle final. Australia dominated and brought the house down, winning gold in a new Games Record time of 7:05.97, while England took silver in 7:08.57. Scotland fought hard and won a superb bronze medal in 7:09.89.
Lead-off man for the relay, Stephen Milne said: “That was an exciting race. Australia and England were really strong and we put up a good fight. I am delighted to have come away with another medal in the pool for Scotland.”
Anchorman and silver medallist from the 400m IM earlier in the meet, Mark Szaranek, said: “The mood in the camp is great and it was brilliant to see Duncan pick up the first gold from the pool for Scotland. That was my first time on the relay on such a big stage and it was really special. The crowd is great and the Team Scotland support has been amazing.”
The final word went to Duncan himself, he said of his achievements: “I’ve not given any thought to my own medal count. That’s the second medal I’ve picked up in relay events so my medal tally wouldn’t be what it is without the support of a number of other athletes.
“There are a lot more events to come and I think we can carry that momentum on and challenge for more medals in the final two days.”
Elsewhere, Hannah Miley finished 6th in the final of the 200m Individual Medley, whilst
Toni Shaw looked delighted to have smashed her own Scottish Record in the S9 100m Freestyle. Touching home in 1:04.19 Shaw swam a controlled race to finish 5th. Craig McNally finished 7th in the 50m Backstroke final.
There was also success for Sean Campsie in the 100m Butterfly and Euan Inglis in the 50m Breaststroke, who will both progress to finals tomorrow night. Also in the 50m Breaststroke, Craig Benson and Mark Campbell finished 9th and 11th whilst Lucy Hope and Corrie Scott finished 10th and 12th for 100m Freestyle and 100m Breaststroke respectively.
Scottish swimmers competing in the heats on the penultimate day of the swimming competition are Craig McNally, Stephen Milne (200m Backstroke); Kathleen Dawson, Cassie Wild, Lucy Hope (50m Backstroke); Scott McLay, Jack Thorpe, Kieran McGuckin (50m Freestyle); Toni Shaw (SB9 100m Breaststroke); Keanna MacInnes, Hannah Miley (200m Butterfly). The session starts at 10:31hrs (01:31hrs UK time).
Endurance cyclist Mark Stewart won Team Scotland’s fourth gold medal in the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane tonight to bring the curtain down on the track events of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and see Scotland sit second on the Cycling medal table.
Stewart put in the performance of his life in the Men’s 40km Points Race to complete a successful day on the boards that also saw Neah Evans take silver in the Women’s 10km Scratch Race and Callum Skinner win bronze in the Men’s 1000m Time Trial.
A successful day’s racing, that ensured ‘Flower of Scotland’ was aired on every night of competition, took the team’s tally to ten medals across the four-day event (four gold, four silver, and two bronze).
Stewart said: “This is definitely up there with one of the good days. I knew going into this race that the Individual Pursuit and the Scratch Race were just activations for today and it worked. It doesn’t always but it did today, and I still can’t believe it.”
Stewart led for the majority of arguably the most gripping race the Games had seen to date, with the palpable, post-race exhaustion of the winner a stark illustration of his commitment to a race set at a blistering pace.
Critical to his success were the three, 20-point bonus points collected throughout the 160-lap encounter, combined with point-scoring finishes in six of the 16 opportunities available to racers every ten laps.
Despite leading the race from early on, Stewart was rarely out of sight of New Zealand rival Campbell Stewart, who secured a maximum five points from each of the last seven sprints as the race drew to a climax.
It was then, with double points on offer in the last lap, that Stewart delivered his fitting finale, timing his last effort to perfection on the final bend to round and outscore his opponent and guarantee the gold.
Stewart added: “This was the first time ever I’ve been able to sing on the podium. It was a nice moment. The European Championships are at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow this August, which now a target and it’s nice to go into that with a Commonwealth title on my back.”
Earlier in the evening, Katie Archibald, Neah Evans and Eileen Roe were in the multi-start, straight final of the Women’s 10km Scratch race, with Evans finishing as runner-up behind Australia’s Amy Cure to add to yesterday’s bronze in Women’s 25km Points Race, with Archibald in fourth and Roe finishing 22nd.
She said: “I’m really happy. I had had to work quite hard to close a gap, having been caught on the back foot a bit. I was hoping to get to the front sooner and dominate but the speed they were putting down made it really difficult to move up the field.
“Coming into the Games I’d have been delighted with a silver and a bronze. I was much more focused on my performance than results. I felt I rode much better tonight, so I’m pleased to have made an improvement.”
The third medal of the evening came in the Men’s 1000m Time Trial, where Callum Skinner put in an impressive 1:01.083 time to come third.
The Olympic medallist’s world standing was recognised by his listing as the penultimate rider, with his four-lap time edging teammate Jonathan Wale out of the top three into fifth.
Skinner admitted to have struggled to recapture his Rio 2016 silver medal-winning form, but he was pleased to see his race times turning in the right direction.
“I’ve had the odd result here and there but I’m not at the pace I want to be at the moment, or getting the results that I want, but to pick up little markers to show we’re getting back to where we want to be is quite encouraging. This is another stepping stone towards Tokyo [2020 Olympics].
“My PB is zero-zero-seven [1:00.7] so I’m a bit off that but, despite being a little bit up and down, to come away with third means I’m happy enough.
“It’s been a very long season, so we’ll look at what we’ve done well and what we’ve done badly and see where we can improve. That’s what we’re about, continuous improvement and working on our weaknesses.”
The day’s racing concludes Team Scotland’s cyclists time on the velodrome track, with many of the riders now checking into the Games Village to begin preparations for the Men and Women’s Individual Time Trial (Tuesday10 April) and Road Race (Saturday 14 April) at the Currumbin beach front.
Team Scotland’s 12-strong Shooting team will get their competition underway at the Belmont Shooting Complex near Brisbane tomorrow (Sunday 8 April) and will be looking to build on a successful Commonwealth Championships held at the same venue last year.
Winning three medals between them in the 50m Rifle Prone and 3 Positions events at the Commonwealth Championships, sisters Jennifer and Seonaid McIntosh will be looking for similar success to that of another set of Team Scotland siblings; cyclists Katie and John Archibald winning gold and silver in the Individual Pursuit events on day two of the Games.
Scotland’s most decorated female Commonwealth Games athlete in history, Jennifer will use her vast experience at both Commonwealth and Olympic Games in her bid to add to her tally of two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Seonaid also comes into Gold Coast 2018 with real medal aspirations after competing at Glasgow 2014 as a teenager.
Jennifer and Seonaid get their Games underway with the 10m Air Rifle at 11:00hrs (02:00hrs UK Time) on 9 April before shooting again in the 50m Rifle Prone on 12 April. Their final event comes on 13 April, in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions, starting at 08:30hrs (23:30hrs 12 April UK Time).
Making an incredible sixth Commonwealth Games appearance Ian Shaw competes alongside Sandy Walker in the Full-bore Queen’s Prize Pairs on 9 and 10 April at 10:00hrs (01:00hrs UK Time). The duo will be hoping to replicate their medal winning performance at the Commonwealth Championships in 2017. The Queen’s Prize Individual then takes place on 11 and 12 April also at 10:00hrs (01:00hrs UK Time).
The first Scottish shooters to compete however, will be Pistol shooters Caroline Brownlie and Jess Liddon as they go in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol, whilst the following day it’s the turn of Aedan Evans in the men’s equivalent. Liddon returns to shoot in the 25m Pistol on 10 April, with all Pistol events starting at 09:00hrs (00:00hrs UK Time) with a qualification event followed by a final.
Neil Stirton goes into Gold Coast 2018 looking to add to a full set of gold, silver and bronze won across three previous Commonwealth Games appearances. He will be joined by Lenny Thomson in the men’s 50m Rifle Prone on 10 April, with Neil going on to contest the 50m Rifle 3 Positions on 14 April. Both events start at 09:00hrs (00:00hrs UK Time) with a qualification event, followed by an afternoon final.
On the eve of his fourth Commonwealth Games, Neil said: “Being part of Team Scotland is an honour that only a handful of athletes get to experience, and the sense of being part of your country’s sporting family at such a Games is truly unique and certainly helps motivate me when submersed in the heart of competition. When you see the team’s first medals coming in, you can’t help but get psyched up for your own competition.”
On the Shotgun range, Calum Fraser and David McMath compete in the Men’s Double Trap on 11 April at 09:00hrs (00:00hrs UK Time), with Linda Pearson lining up in the women’s Double Trap at 10:30hrs (01:30hrs UK Time). Sharon Niven will shoot in the Women’s Trap from 09:00hrs (00:00 UK Time) on 13 April.
Duncan Scott set Scottish pulses racing once again tonight, securing bronze in the first Swimming final of the evening, the 200m Butterfly. In an event he has never raced in before at international level, Scott looked at home amongst the Fly specialists, including reigning Commonwealth Champion, South Africa’s Chad le Clos and Olympians David Morgan of Australia and Mackenzie Darragh of Canada.
Scott was still back in 5th place with 50m to go, but powered home for bronze in 1:56.60, a new personal best. Le Clos dominated from the start and won the race in a new Games Record time of 1:54.00. Despite Scott’s late charge, David Morgan held on for silver in 1:56.36.
Afterwards Scott said, “It’s not an event I’m used to racing and there were lads in that final with some real Fly speed. I’m sure I could have been quicker, although it was a big PB so I’ve got to be pleased with that.
“I always seem to come back very strong in the Fly and I had to do that tonight. My third 50m was poor but that last 50 was a lot better than it’s ever been and that’s something really positive to take away.
“I didn’t really know where I was in the race but I actually enjoyed that, well as much as anyone enjoys a 200m Fly.”
Scott returned to the pool later in the evening for the semi-finals of the 100m Freestyle where he finished second in his race and fourth fastest for tomorrow’s final (48.72). Jack Thorpe, fresh from the part he played in winning Scotland’s first ever 4x100m Freestyle Relay medal, finished 12th overall with 49.75.
Ross Murdoch and Craig Benson were both involved in the final of the 100m Breaststroke. In a class field which included Olympic, World and Commonwealth Champion, Adam Peaty, and Commonwealth Champion over 200m, James Wilby, both swimming for England, it was always going to be a tough ask to get in amongst the medals.
Indeed it was an English 1-2 with Games veteran Cameron van der Burgh winning bronze for South Africa. Both Scots pushed hard and came home in 5th and 6th place respectively with Murdoch posting 59.89 while Benson finished in 1:00.42.
After the race Murdoch was upbeat about his performance: “That was alright, a bit faster than last night for me. I’m happy to be moving on from round to round.
Craig Benson said of his race: “I’m a bit disappointed with that to be honest. I went out pretty hard to get myself into the race, but that didn’t leave me enough at the end. It was a stacked final and I’ll now turn my focus to the 50m tomorrow.”
In other finals tonight, Kathleen Dawson finished =6th in the 100m Backstroke while Toni Shaw lowered her personal best again, finishing 6th in the SM10 200m Individual Medley.
The quartet of Lucy Hope, Camilla Hattersley, Abbie Houston and Hannah Miley showed strength to finish 4th in the 4x200m Freestyle final.
Craig McNally made it through his semi-final of the 50m Backstroke to take the outside lane for tomorrow’s 50m Backstroke final, while swimmers due to race in Sunday’s heats include Kathleen Dawson in the 200m Backstroke, Craig Benson, Euan Inglis and Mark Campbell in the 50m Breaststroke, Lucy Hope in the 100m Freestyle, while Toni Shaw will contest the S9 100m Freestyle.
Hannah Miley returns for the 200m Individual Medley, while Sean Campsie and Corrie Scott are involved in the heats of the 100m Butterfly and 100m Breaststroke respectively.
Camilla Hattersley competes in the 800m Freestyle. There’s also the 4x200m Freestyle, an event the Scottish men have won silver in for the past three Games.
Day three saw Team Scotland continue their outstanding start to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games as five more medals were won in the pool and velodrome, putting the nation sixth on the medal table with 15 medals.
There was a second gold for Neil Fachie and his pilot Matt Rotherham, the World Champions winning the Men’s Para-Sport B&VI Sprint with another sterling ride. Later in the evening Katie Archibald and Neah Evans also stepped onto the rostrum to collect silver and bronze medals respectively, after great rides in the Women’s Points Race, only beaten by World Champion, Elinor Barker.
After coming from behind to book his place in the Men’s Sprint final, Jack Carlin went head to head with New Zealand’s Sam Webster in the gold medal race. Like in his semi-final Carlin lost the first sprint but left it just too late in the second race, losing out by the width of a rim, meaning he had to settle for silver.
In the pool Duncan Scott picked up where he left off last night, winning a third bronze medal, this time in the 200m Butterfly where Chad Le Clos set a Games record for gold.
For full details see the individual feature pieces about Cycling and Swimming.
Badminton
The squad were back in action for the third day in succession in the Mixed Team Event, but faced a tough quarter-final tie against second seeds Malaysia. First up were Julie MacPherson and Adam Hall in the Mixed Doubles, the pairing playing some of the best Badminton of their lives, to narrowly lose out to Olympic silver medallists Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh in three games.
Kieran Merrilees was up next in the Men’s Singles against another Olympic silver medallist in Lee Chong Wei, pushing him hard in the first game but eventually falling 2-0 to the Malaysian’s class. Hall was back on court alongside Alex Dunn in the Men’s Doubles knowing a win was needed to keep the tie alive, which proved a step too far, despite some excellent badminton especially in the second game.
“It was good experience,” said Hall. “We don’t get to play a lot of Mixed Team Events as Scotland or at all really, it’s probably once every two years if we’re lucky. It’s always special to play as part of a team and especially for Scotland at an event like this. Us younger ones will definitely take some experience from this into future team events, where we’ll hopefully go further in the tournament.”
After a couple of days of rest Team Scotland will be back in action in the individual competition commencing on Tuesday 10 April.
Basketball
After a special victory over England in their first Commonwealth Games match for 12 years, Team Scotland’s basketball players carried plenty of momentum into their second of three group games against Cameroon. Racing into a 15-4 lead at the end of the first quarter the team in blue never looked back, running out 63-52 winners to secure their place in the next round with a game to spare. Gareth Murray top scored with 25 points but once again it was a great team effort.
Team Scotland take on India tomorrow at 21:00hrs (14:00hrs UK time) up in Townsville
Beach Volleyball
Team Scotland’s Beach Volleyball Pair, Robin Miedzybrodzki and Seain Cook, booked their place in the quarter-finals tonight with a hard fought 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-13) win over Sierra Leone. Of the result Miedzybrodski said: “We fought and fought and fought. I’m really proud of that victory. Those are the ones that count.”
Meanwhile, Team Scotland’s Women’s Pair Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts suffered a tough 2-0 (8-21, 16-21) defeat at the hands of Cyprus, Beattie commenting: “We made far too many errors. We made it really easy for them, so we’re really disappointed.”
Coutts and Beattie are back in action tomorrow, taking on hosts Australia at 21:30hrs (12:30hrs UK time), while the men play on Monday against Canada at 12:30 (03:30 UK time).
Boxing
Vicky Glover became the first female boxer to represent Scotland at a Commonwealth Games when she faced Valerian Spicer in the Women’s Featherweight competition. Putting in a mature, professional performance she out-boxed the experienced Dominican fighter to take the win on a split-points decision.
After the fight Glover said: “I’m so happy to get the first fight out of the way. It was a wee bit edgy in there to start with, and I switched off a little in the second, but I won and it was a good warm-up. It’s a privilege to be here as the first Scottish girl at a Commonwealth Games.”
After overcoming a Tongan fighter in the opening contest, Welterweight Stephen Newns returned to the ring against Curlun Richardson of Anguilla. It was a physical contest, but Newns boxed far better than his opponent to take the bout in a unanimous decision. He commented: “It’s one fight at a time; I just need to give it my all in my next fight and keep going from there.”
Tomorrow (8 April) at the Oxenford Studios, Megan Gordon will follow in Glover’s footsteps in the Women’s Light Flyweight at 12:17hrs (03:17hrs UK time); Robbie McKechnie gets his Games underway against Canada at 13:17hrs (04:17hrs) in the Light Welterweight division before Middleweight, John Docherty returns to the ring at 21:17hrs (12:17hrs UK time) against Cyprus.
Gymnastics
It was a busy day for Team Scotland as both the men and women had maximum representation in the Individual All-Around Finals.
Frank Baines and Hamish Carter competed in the morning session, Frank finishing an impressive fourth place with 82.55 points, Hamish sixth with 81.05 points. Shannon Archer and Cara Kennedy represented Team Scotland in the women’s equivalent, with Kennedy in ninth place with 49.15 points, and Archer in tenth with 48.85 points. It is the first time that Scotland has ever placed two gymnasts in the top 10 in the All-Around and ninth for Kennedy equaled Scotland’s best ever finish in this event.
Carter, Archer and Kennedy will be back in action tomorrow along with Dan Purvis in the Men’s and Women’s Apparatus Finals. At 14:30hrs (05:30hrs UK time), Purvis and Carter compete in the Men’s Floor Exercise final, followed by Archer and Kennedy on the Vault at 15:20hrs (06:20hrs UK time). The day will round off with Purvis on the Rings at 16:30hrs (07:30hrs UK time).
Hockey: Team Scotland’s men were back in action, facing Canada in their second match of the Games and looking to build on a 4-2 win over South Africa. The team fought hard to rally after going behind in the first quarter, however the Canadians held strong to see out a 1-0 win.
The men will be back in action tomorrow night at 21:30hrs (12:30hrs UK time) against Australia who have dominated the sport – winning gold at every Games to date.
Lawn Bowls: Today at Broadbeach Bowling Club, Team Scotland’s lawn bowlers guaranteed semi-final spots in two events; the Men’s Triples and the Men’s Pairs.
After finishing second in their group, Ronnie Duncan, Derek Oliver and Darren Burnett faced Wales in a thrilling match where they were forced to rally from 11-2 down. They claimed a 15-13 win to guarantee a spot in tomorrow’s semi-final against Norfolk Island. That match, which will take place at 09:00hrs (00:00hrs UK time), will be followed by either the final or bronze medal match at 12:30hrs (03:30hrs UK time).
Defending Pairs champions Alex Marshall and Paul Foster played Malaysia in their final group game, breezing to a 27-9 win, to top their group. In a twist of fate, they were then drawn against the same Malaysian side for the quarter-final and once again got the better of their Asian rivals to advance. Tomorrow’s semi-final against Malta takes place at 12:30hrs (03:30hrs UK time), with the final and bronze medal matches to be played on Monday.
There was disappointment in the Women’s Singles for Caroline Brown as, after topping her group, she lost out to Canada’s Kelly McKerihen in the quarter-final. The Women’s Fours team suffered a similar fate, also to Canadian opposition.
Both Para-Bowls teams were in action this evening, continuing their preliminary games. The B2/B3 Mixed Pairs met South Africa to whom they suffered an 18-3 loss, but are back in action at 09:00hrs (00:00hrs UK time) tomorrow against New Zealand.
The B6/B7/B8 Open Triples Para-Bowlers played New Zealand, losing 17-9. They return to the greens tomorrow and will face England at 17:30hrs (08:30hrs UK time).
Netball
In their second home nations clash, Team Scotland’s netball players hoped to build on some good passages of play against England two days prior, and they did just that, getting the better of Wales. After a cagey opening half Scotland were trailing 23-24, but some sharp shooting from 18 year old Beth Goodwin helped drive the team on, eventually prevailing 51-47.
Proud of the team’s performance, Nicola McCleery commented: “We knew we could do it and we knew that if we just stuck to our process we could get the win and I think we showed that tonight. We fought for 60 minutes and it was a really well contested match. Wales played some great stuff but we kept our composure and our shooters were phenomenal tonight.”
The team will now look to take that momentum into their next Pool B game against New Zealand on 9 April.
Squash
Alan Clyne faced off against Joel Makin of Wales in the Men’s Singles quarter-finals in a gruelling 99-minute match on the show court at Oxenford Studios. The two hugely physical players pushed each other all the way, with Makin eventually coming out on top winning the final game 12-10 to take the match.
In the men’s Singles Classic Plate semi-final, Kevin Moran continued his strong form against Othniel Bailey of St Vincent and the Grenadines with a comfortable 3-0 victory. He’ll now contest the Plate Final against Micah Franklin of Bermuda tomorrow at 18:00hrs (09:00hrs UK time).
Triathlon
Para-Triathlon made its debut at the Commonwealth Games on a glorious morning on the Gold Coast, with Karen Darke in action for Team Scotland. After a solid swim in very choppy water, her weakest element of the swim-hand cycling-wheelchair combination, Darke was fifth, but producing the second fastest bike split she moved up to fourth. Despite pushing hard all the way, her rivals had just too much on the day and the Inverness athlete was unable to haul herself into the medal positions, having to settle for fourth in 1.16.37.
“That was tough,” she said. “The swim really got me – I’ve never swum in a sea with waves and a current like that before and I really suffered. I really wanted to pull off a medal for Scotland, but hey, I tried my best.”
In the Mixed Team Relay, Beth Potter, Mark Austin, Erin Wallace and Grant Sheldon put up a great fight against some quality opposition, eventually finishing in seventh place, equalling their performance in Glasgow four years ago.
Tomorrow
Athletics gets underway at the Carrara Stadium on Sunday, with Chris Bennett and Mark Dry contesting the Men’s Hammer final at 14:00hrs (05:00hrs UK time), both men with their sights set on competing for medals.
Team Scotland collected a further four medals on a stellar third day of Track Cycling at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane.
A second gold medal for Neil Fachie and Matt Rotherham, this time in the Men’s B&VI sprint, was followed by silver and bronze medals for Katie Archibald and Neah Evans in the Women’s 25km Scratch race, before Jack Carlin completed the haul with the night’s second silver, in the Men’s Sprint.
Carlin, who finished just outside the medals in yesterday’s Kierin, said: “It [finishing fourth] gave me hunger to try get a good finish today. Competing for Team Scotland has been a dream of mine ever since I was sitting in the stands at the last Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. “I said ‘I want to be there one day’, and now I have a medal to show that I was.”
Tandem pairing Fachie and Rotherham made a statement of intent early on when they qualified in a world record time, completing the 200m lap in 9.568 seconds, before cruising through the best-of-three heats unscathed. In the final they again won the first two races to complete their domination of the 2018 event.
Fachie, who successfully defended his double gold from Glasgow 2014, showed no signs of letting up and said: “We really, really train hard, and the results speak for themselves. We’ve done really well and who knows where we can go if we keep pushing those boundaries. We’re way ahead of where we expected to be time-wise at this stage, so who knows what the future may hold.”
Three of Team Scotland’s women’s riders then entered the fray in the Women’s 25km Points Race, with 23 athletes on the track in a straight final.
Katie Archibald and Neah Evans were in the mix throughout, however the efforts made by Welsh World Champion Eilnor Barker to lap the field for a 20-point bonus proved to be the difference. Despite the Scots’ efforts to reel her in as the race progressed, finishing behind Barker (40 points) on 20 and 17 points respectively
Archibald, who added silver to the Women’s Individual Pursuit gold she collected yesterday, was measured in her post-race assessment.
“I think the issue was in the first half of the race. I thought I didn’t have it in me. We [herself and Neah] went into it wanting to go one/two.”
Featuring in her first Commonwealth Games, Evans was pleased to pick up the bronze and earn a place among the night’s celebrants.
“It was hard work. I knew, having trained with the other guys, that I was there or thereabouts, but it’s always hard to prove that in a competition, so I’m really happy to come away with a bronze medal. You go in with half an idea of what you’d like but you’ve got to be adaptable and go with the race and see how it flows out.
“Watching the other members [of Team Scotland] going out and winning medals, it’s quite an electric atmosphere, so to come and actually win a medal myself is huge.”
Team Scotland’s third rider in the race, Eileen Roe, didn’t score and finished among the chasing pack.
It was then the turn of young speedster, Carlin, to light up the track with some excellent racing, first by registering a Games record of 9.650 and progressing to the next round as the second fastest, after Australian Matt Glaetzer bettered the Scotsman’s run in 9.583.
In the quarter-final Englishman Joseph Truman won the opening sprint before Carlin responded with back-to-back triumphs to progress to the semi-final, where he would defeat Australia’s Jacob Schmid two-nil. That win secured his place in the race for gold, but he was edged out by +0.429 and +0.005 seconds in the first two races to end the night as runner-up, but he has a bright future ahead of him.
Elsewhere all three of Team Scotland’s riders progressed through to the finals of the Men’s 15km Scratch Race but finished outside the medals, Mark Stewart seventh, John Archibald 8th and Kyle Gordon 11th.
Another race and another magnificent personal best (1:08.993) was still not enough for Ailieen McGlynn and Louise Haston in the Women’s B&VI 1000m Time Trial.
Tomorrow sees the qualifying rounds of the Men’s 40km Points Race get underway at 15:47hrs (08:47hrs UK time), with Archibald, Gordon and Stewart all involved. The Men’s 1000m Time Trial follows at 16:47hrs (09:47hrs UK time), with Callum Skinner and Jonathan Wale taking to the boards. It’s then the turn of the women to get in on the action, with Neah Evans, Eileen Roe and, Katie Archibald all competing in the Women’s 10km Scratch Race Final at 20:19hrs (11:19hrs UK time).
Team Scotland’s Beach Volleyball Pairs secured their place in history on the Gold Coast earlier today, with both the men and women winning their opening matches as the sport made its Commonwealth Games debut.
The Men’s Pair of Robin Miedzybrodzki and Seain Cook were first up against Sri Lanka, a largely unknown outfit who put up a fight right to the end, but it was the Scottish duo who were victorious, winning 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 16-14).
Delighted with the result Cook said: “I’m very happy to win. It was a tough slog. After the first set we thought we would be cruising, but they came back and the third set was an absolute fight.”
The Women’s Pair of Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts were up next against Grenada in an equally action-packed match, however in the end they ran out 2-0 (21-8, 21-11) winners in just 28 minutes.
“We stuck to our game plan. We wanted to put them under pressure with our serve and we also wanted to enjoy the moment,” said Beattie, who was inspired by the electric atmosphere inside the 4,000-seat venue on Coolangatta’s stunning beachfront.
“It’s absolutely amazing. You can prepare for anything you’d like, but nothing compares to coming out in front of such a great crowd, and we had great Scottish support that made it even better.”
The significance of these matches as part of the first ever Commonwealth Games Beach Volleyball competition was summed up by Robin Miedzybrodzki, who added: “It’s great to have Beach Volleyball in the Commonwealth Games and to be able to pull on a Team Scotland jersey.”
Team Scotland’s Beach Volleyball players will be back in action again tomorrow evening with the Women’s Pair looking to turn the tables on Cyprus, who beat them in the European group qualifiers, forcing them to wait for a wild card. The men face Sierra Leone. Those matches take place at 19:30hrs (10:30hrs UK time) and 21:30hrs (12:30hrs UK time) respectively.