Ross Murdoch had to fight hard to secure the Bronze medal in the 100m Breaststroke final at Tollcross International Swimming Centre.
With three of the four fastest swimmers in the world over the distance contesting the final it was always going to be a highly competitive race and it didn’t disappoint, with Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa setting the early pace. Hot on his heels were Murdoch, England’s Adam Peaty and New Zealand’s Glenn Snyders and at the 50m mark there was very little separating the field.
Peaty’s finish is strong, both he and Murdoch closing the gap quickly on van der Burgh and the race was on. Peaty timed his final push to perfection securing Gold in 58.94, a new Games record, while van der Burgh just managed to hold off the challenge of Murdoch to win Silver. Murdoch finished with the Bronze medal in 59.47, while team-mate Craig Benson swam well for 4th in 1:00.44.

Following the race, Murdoch said:
“I’m really pleased with that, it was a personal best for me, and coming off the back of the 200m it was a fantastic race for myself. I would like to say congratulations to Adam Peaty. He is the first British man ever to go sub 59, which is an amazing feat.
“I felt more relaxed with the Scottish people behind me. The support has been fantastic this week with everyone behind me. I’ve had loads of test messages and it’s turning out to be a fantastic experience, one I’ll never forget.”
When asked if winning the Bronze medal gave him as much pride as winning the Gold medal in the 200m Breaststroke final, Murdoch continued,
“I’m absolutely delighted. This is another medal I get to say I won for Scotland at a Home Games. I am over the moon with it.
“It was also a great honour to have my medal presented by David Wilkie. He spoke to me just before the ceremony and told me to keep going, keep pushing hard and maybe in a couple of years we’ll see something else.”
There was much expectation about the 200m butterfly final following Cameron Brodie’s superb swim in this morning’s heats. Drawn next to South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, Brodie tried hard to keep on the shoulder of the reigning Olympic Champion, who until the final 150m was lying in 2nd place, behind Australian Grant Irvine.
Le Clos, well known for a strong finish, powered his way down the last 50m taking Gold in a new Games record time of 1:55.07. Irvine won Silver and Sebastien Rousseau his second Bronze of the Games. Brodie himself finished in 4th place in 1:56.59 and, despite that being a personal best, was disappointed. He said,
“I said after this morning’s heats that I would go on and win tonight, I felt like superman. Right now I’m feeling a hell of a lot worse. I was only about 0.1 away from a medal and standing on that podium. I should be happy with that, but 4th place sucks!”
“Chad’s last 50m is his strength, my last 50m is my weakness so just to be close to him at 150m felt good but from there on in he just started to get away from me, as did the others.”
“I will go through to swim down and put a smile on my face and say that I’m pleased but in bed tonight there may be tears, I don’t know.”
Hannah Miley looked shocked at her 4th place finish in the 200m Breaststroke final. Ranked 10th before the event, Miley used her strength in the latter stages of the race to move through the field and challenge for a medal. She finished in 2:25.40, a new personal best and only 0.4 off the bronze medal.
Miley was back in action at the end of the night, racing along with Caitlin McClatchey, Megan Gilchrist and Rachel-Louise Masson in the 4x200m Freestyle final, where they finished 5th. Earlier in the day Lucy Hope and Rachael O’Donnell had helped secure the place in the final.
Craig Rodgie looked much happier after his Para-Sport 200m Freestyle S14 final and a 5th place finish. His time of 2:03.20 was just outside his personal best.
In other events Sian Harkin finished 7th in the final of the 50m Freestyle with a time of 25.31 after which she had to go and prepare for her semi-final of the 50m Butterfly in which she finished 15th overall posting a time of 27.52.
Jack Ness, Andrew McGovern and Rory Lamont finished 10th, 11th and 13th overall respectively after the semi-finals of the 50m Backstroke
Day four sees Team Scotland’s youngest ever competitor take to the blocks with Erraid Davies going in the Para-Swimming 100m Breaststroke SB9. Ross Murdoch will be back in action in the 50m Breaststroke where he will be joined by Mark Tully and Joe Welstead. Hannah Miley is also back in action in the 200m Individual Medley, while Camilla Hattersley and Aisha Thornton make their Team Scotland debuts in the 800m Freestyle. Corrie Scott, Kathryn Johnstone and Katie Armitage will all contest the 100m Breaststroke.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Scotland’s Para-Sport competitors put Lawn Bowls on the medal rostrum for the first time in the Glasgow Games and took the team halfway to its Bowls target of two medals.
At Kelvingrove, Para-Sport Mixed Pairs B2/B3 competitors Robert Conway and Irene Edgar, together with their directors Ron McArthur and David Thomas, won the Silver medal after losing 14-10 to South Africa.
The Scots had played the same South African line up twice in recent years with the tally equal at a win each. Today Scotland made two good comebacks, from 5-2 down and again trailing 10-6, on both occasions levelling the score.
But at 10-10 on the penultimate, fourteenth end South Africa scored a three from which the Scots did not recover.
“Coming back from 10-6 down I thought maybe we could put a wee bit of pressure on them at that point,” said Robert Conway.
“And at 10-10 I thought we had a good chance. But then the next end we lost a three and it was a silly three to lose.”
Having gone into today’s match knowing they were capable of beating the South Africans, the Scots admitted to being disappointed at missing Gold in front of the home crowd.
“I’m very thrilled with silver but a little bit disappointed in the way we played,” admitted Conway.
“Not taking anything away from South Africa who played well and deserved to win, but we didn’t really give South Africa a game and I think we could have played a lot better.
“I said at the first media conference in April that we would be delighted with any podium finish. As the time grew and as the preparation went on we got stronger and I then thought it’s going to be the top one, but I’m still delighted with second.”
The pair were thrilled both to be a part of Team and saw today’s game as a great opportunity to promote Bowls for the visually impaired.
“There are a lot of people who have never heard of visually impaired Bowls until this competition,” said Conway. “But hopefully after this week a lot more people will know about it.
“It’s great to be a part of the whole Team Scotland and it’s brilliant to have won so many medals, and it’s only day three.”
The opportunity to add more Bowls medals to the growing list of Team Scotland silver-ware continues at Kelvingrove tomorrow.
In the Men’s Pairs Paul Foster and Alex Marshall meet England in the semi-finals, after beating New Zealand 25-9 this afternoon.
The Women’s Fours; Claire Johnston, Lorraine Malloy, Lauren Bailey and Margaret Letham beat Jersey 16-14 in the quarter-finals to set up their semi-final meeting with South Africa.
Scotland’s Caroline Brown is out of the women’s Singles. She lost her quarter-final at the hands of Natalie Melmore, the Commonwealth Games champion from England, 21-20 in a match which could easily have gone either way.
“I’m delighted with my performance and I thought it was an excellent game,” said Brown, who is now looking forward to starting the Women’s Pairs event.
“It was nip and tuck most of the second half of the match and it went right to the wire. I’m gutted to lose out on a shot but it was a great game.”
The other Scottish loss of the afternoon was Scotland’s men’s Triples; David Peacock, Neil Speirs and Darren Burnett, who lost 19-12 in the quarter finals to Northern Ireland.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Dan Wallace put a bad couple of months behind him to win Scotland’s third Gold medal of the swimming competition in the 400m Individual Medley, while Corrie Scott brought home a Bronze medal in the 50m Breaststroke final at Tollcross International Swimming Centre.

Wallace paced his race brilliantly and was not in any way phased by the early pace Sebastien Rousseau of South Africa was setting. Safe in the knowledge that the latter half of the race was his stronger part, Wallace slowly reined in his rival. A superb turn onto the breaststroke leg gave Wallace his cue to make the move and, with only 50m to go, he took the opportunity and stormed to victory in a time of 4:11.20, just outside the Commonwealth Games Record time he had set in the heats (4:11.04).

Rousseau paid the price for his early pace, fading towards the end, and it was Thomas Fraser-Holmes of Australia who won Silver, with Rousseau settling for Bronze. Scots Lewis Smith and Ross Muir finished 5th and 8th respectively.

On touching the wall Wallace was heard shouting into the air, which he later explained:

“I yelled at the top of my lungs ‘freedom’. Being here in front of a home crowd really brought out the Braveheart spirt and true Scot in me, and I just couldn’t help it.”

“I woke up this morning believing I could do this. I knew where I had to be at 200m and I knew I had the best breaststroke leg of the field. The crowd were absolutely amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like this. Hopefully this performance tonight will overshadow recent events and this is what I’ll be remembered for.

Earlier in the evening Corrie Scott had secured a fantastic Bronze medal in the 50m Breaststroke final, touching home in yet another personal best time. Leiston Pickett of Australia successfully defended the title she won in Delhi, with Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson taking Silver. Scott’s team-mates Kathryn Johnstone and Andrea Strachan finished 6th and 8th respectively.

Following the medal ceremony a jubilant Scott said: “I’ve been training so hard. I knew I could go fast but just didn’t know how fast. All I’ve been thinking about is to get through the heats, improve on my time in the semi-final, then in the final, anything could happen and it just did.

“Nights like this make all the early mornings and the training worthwhile. I’ve taken a year out of my university studies for this as I really wanted to leave no stone unturned in terms of my preparation. To achieve this medal in a pool I’ve been competing in since I was 11 years old, and in front of my parents, my grandparents and my cousins, has made this the best day ever.”

Robbie Renwick was unable to defend his 200m Freestyle title finishing 5th in 1:46.79 and Craig McNally finished 7th in the 100m Backstroke final in a time of 54.54.

The 4x100m Freestyle relay quartet of Robbie Renwick, Richard Schafers, Kieran McGuckin and Duncan Scott just missed out a medal, finishing 4th.

Ross Murdoch will be back in action tomorrow in the final of the 100m Breaststroke. There he will line up alongside Craig Benson, who also qualified from the semi-finals. Michael Jamieson misses out though, finishing 11th overall. It was a similar story for Kathleen Dawson who couldn’t improve on her heat time and finished 10th overall after the 100m Backstroke semi-finals. Sian Harkin will also feature for Scotland in the final of the 50m Freestyle.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Experienced tandem duo Neil Fachie and Craig MacLean snatched Scotland’s first Cycling Gold of the Games in the Men’s 1,000 metre Time Trial B Tandem with a gutsy ride. As the final pair on the start sheet, watching all the other competitors set their times, it was a nail-biting wait to get on track in front of the home crowd that had gathered at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

The Australians had set a fastest time of 1.02.096 to beat. After digging deep and giving it all they had, MacLean and Fachie crossed the line in spectacular style and made history by claiming the first ever Men’s Para-Cycling Gold medal of the Commonwealth Games.
Fachie, exhausted but proud, said: “We’ve worked really hard for this and that ride was the most painful experience of either of our lives I think. So I think we deserve this medal and we want to celebrate it with the crowd because they’ve been fantastic.
“We’ve both stood on top of the podium many a time but you know, obviously, to do it for Scotland in Scotland is something most athletes can only dream of so it was a nice moment that we’ll never forget.
“London was phenomenal and obviously the crowd there was slightly bigger, but I’ll tell you the noise level was just as loud here and if it hadn’t been for that crowd cheering us on at the end I’m not sure we would have made it round, we were going so slowly there at the end, we were hurting badly, but the crowd kept us going so I can’t thank them enough for what they did.”
As the temperature soared outside the atmosphere inside heated up too. In the Individual Pursuit Katie Archibald, Scotland’s World Team Pursuit Champion went head to head with New Zealand’s Jamie Nielsen in qualifying. Archibald, famous for her quirky style and multi coloured hair, walked away with a new personal best and Scottish Record which put her into the Bronze medal race against Australian rider Amy Cure. She gave it everything but couldn’t quite hold off the Australian in the fight for medals.

England’s Joanna Rowsell put down a fantastic heat in the qualifying round, setting a new Commonwealth Games Record of 3:29.038, more than enough to put her into the Gold medal race, and went on to clinch the Gold from Cure’s team-mate Annette Edmondson.

In the same event Anna Turvey finished 12th, beating her Canadian opponent in qualifying and setting a new Scottish record, which was later re-broken by Archibald.

Next on the boards was the youngest member of Scotland’s Cycling team, Mark Stewart, racing in the Men’s 4,000 metre Individual Pursuit. The reigning British University Individual Pursuit Track Champion managed to catch his India opponent and clock a new Scottish Record to finish 11th overall. Australian riders Jack Bobridge and Alex Edmondson took Gold and Silver respectively, with New Zealand’s Marc Ryan taking Bronze.

Day 3 of the Track Cycling competition will see Scots take to the boards from 1100hrs.

Photo Credit: Jeff Holmes

Scotland’s Judo team added two more medals – Gold and Bronze – to take their impressive haul to eight in two days.

Sarah Clark took Gold in the -63kg category with an impressive run of Ippon wins in front of another packed home crowd.

Sarah said: “It feels a bit surreal to be honest. It’s been a long time coming but now it’s here I’m so happy. Self motivation gets you doing this sport at home and on the mat but the crowd here brings additional motivation. It adds a bit of pressure too but it’s how you deal with that when it counts that matters. The last 10 months have been building up to this. As I started getting better and fitter again I knew I wanted this and I’m just so happy to have done it.”
Sally Conway (-70kg) fought hard in the semi-final, but lost out to the eventual winner. In the Bronze medal match, she attacked from the start to outmanoeuvre her opponent and claim Bronze.

Sally said: “It’s really helped push through today. I was so gutted about the semi-final that I’ve really had to try to pick myself back up again for the bronze fight and without the crowd and the support of my coaches and family and team-mates I don’t think I would have been able to do it today. It was tough but I’m really happy I fought the way I did in the bronze fight to get that Bronze medal.”

The other judoka in action was Patrick Dawson (-73kg), who fought through a tough draw to make the Bronze medal match in the Repercharge. In a tough contest Patrick lost out after being caught by a throw from the Australian competitor.

Judo concludes on Saturday at the SECC.

Photo Credit: Rob Hardie

Lauren Brash delivered a sterling display in the Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual All-Around Final at the Hydro to finish in 16th position with a score of 44.875. The highlight was a strong Clubs routine and she ended her competition, and her 2014 Commonwealth Games, with a beautifully delivered Ribbon routine to the delight of both herself and the home crowd
Lauren took to the floor in a strong competition which included Canada’s 2014 Pacific Rim Champion Patricia Bezzoubenko and 2014 British All-Around champion Laura Halford of Wales.
Summing up her overall Commonwealth Games experience Lauren said, “I have got so much happiness, it has been amazing. I am excited now for the future”.
15 year old Lauren can take immense pride in her performances throughout the Games, qualifying for the Commonwealth Individual All-Around Final in her first year as a senior gymnast.
Lauren’s Ribbon routine marked the end of Team Scotland’s Rhythmic Gymnastics involvement at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Next up will be the Men’s & Women’s Artistic Gymnasts who start their competition on Monday with the Team & Individual All-Around event.

Team Scotland’s cyclists were raring to go at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on the opening day of the XX Commonwealth Games, and it was Aileen McGlynn and Louise Haston who made history by winning the first Scottish medal of Glasgow 2014.

It was instantly clear that it was going to be a phenomenal day as Games Records were broken in the first event, the Men’s Sprint, with John Paul, Chris Pritchard and Callum Skinner all taking to the line for Scotland. After the Commonwealth Games record fell for the third time, Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer crossed the line in 9.779 seconds making it the 4th new Games Record of the event. Scotland’s Skinner set a time of 10.198 which was enough to see him through to the next round.

Multi Paralympian McGlynn and pilot Haston proved they were on top form in their qualifying event, smashing the Commonwealth Games Record in the Women’s Para-cycling Sprint B2 Tandem. This was then bettered by the English pairing Sophie Thornhill and Helen Scott, setting up an intriguing battle. After taking on the Australians in the semi-final McGlynn and Haston went through to join the English duo to battle it out for Gold, making it home nations final. In a close race McGlynn and Haston took Silver, Scotland’s first medal of the Games. Laura Cluxton and her pilot Fiona Duncan came 5th.

McGlynn said,“To win Scotland’s first medal of the games on home soil, in front of a home crowd is such an honour. The noise from the crowd was incredible and really it was great to see the saltires flying. It’s taken a lot of hard work and many hours of training to get here, but I’m delighted.”

Louise Haston added, “Considering this is my first Sprint competition, I am so pleased to come away with a Commonwealth Games Silver medal and especially pleased that it is the first medal of the Games! I can’t wait to get back on my bike on Sunday and hear that home crowd again for my favourite event, the 1,000 metre Time Trial.”

In the Men’s Sprint, despite an incredible second lap, Callum Skinner narrowly missed out at the shot at a medal.
In the Men’s Team Sprint a further two Games Records were set, first by Team England and then bettered by Team New Zealand. Unfortunately the Scotland trio of Jonathan Biggin, Chris Pritchard and Callum Skinner missed out on a place in the final.

It was then the turn of Delhi Commonwealth Games Silver medallist Jenny Davis to take to the track followed by Elinor Richardson in the Women’s 500 metre Time Trial event. At the end of the event Richardson took 8th and Davis 9th.

On day 2 of the games the Team Scotland Track Cyclists will be taking the boards for Men’s Para-cycling 1,000 metre Time Trail, the Women’s 3,000 metre Individual Pursuit and the Men’s 4,000 metre Individual Pursuit.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Scotland’s Judokas picked up 6 medals on the first day of competition at the SECC, including an historic double-gold for the Renicks sisters.

Kimberley Renicks won Scotland’s first Gold medal of the Games in the -48kg category with a stunning Ippon, which sent the packed crowd into raptures.

Reflecting on her medal Kimberley said: “It’s just incredible to be here as Scotland’s first Gold medalist. Out of 310 athletes for it to be me is an amazing feeling, I’m so proud. I’ve been nervous all day but the crowd in here really lifts you. They’ve been fantastic.”

Fans didn’t have to wait long for a second medal, with John Buchanan (-60kg) taking Bronze before Louise Renicks replicated her sister’s gold medal winning feat.

“It feels brilliant to follow Kimberley, I just want to give her a hug”, said Louise. “Seeing her win didn’t distract me. I did what I had to do, watched her win and then got on with my preparation. It was a tactical match, we both know each other so well, but I’m delighted to come out on top.”

The medals continued rolling in with James Millar (-66kg) and Connie Ramsay (-57kg) winning Bronze, before Steph Inglis took Silver in the -57kg category.

Steph said: “I definitely knew a medal was in my grasp so it was always in my head to get into the final and go for the Gold medal, but there will be other Games. Today was fantastic and it was only the start. We’re going to see some more medals over the next few days.”

Judo continues at the SECC today and concludes on Saturday.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Ross Murdoch changed the script and stole the show, winning Gold from team-mate Michael Jamieson in an electrifying 200m Breaststroke final at Tollcross International Swimming Centre. Hannah Miley also set Tollcross alight with a perfectly judged 400m Individual Medley to successfully defend her Commonwealth crown and secure Scotland’s first Gold medal in the pool.

In an eagerly anticipated Breaststroke final Jamieson was hotly tipped to overcome the nerves which had plagued him during the morning heats. Both he and Murdoch started confidently and there was little to separate them at the half way mark. Indeed it was Christian Sprenger of Australia, the only swimmer from out-with the Home Countries, who took an early lead, a lead that was soon whittled down by Murdoch and Jamieson, and from here on in, it was a two-man race.

Murdoch, who before this was considered more of a 100m specialist, looked the stronger of the two, but only managed to move away from Jamieson in the final 50m, coming home to take Gold in 2:07.30, a new Games record. Jamieson had to settle for Silver in 2:08.40, while England’s Andrew Willis won Bronze in 2:09.87. Scotland’s Calum Tait finished in 5th place, lowering his personal best to 2:10.21.
After an emotional medal ceremony, Murdoch said,

“I still can’t believe that just happened. The last 50m when I had that many people cheering me on, it was the best feeling ever and something I will remember for the rest of my life.I like being the underdog and this result gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the week.”

Murdoch also paid tribute to his team-mate Jamieson, adding, “He had a tough end to last season and this season has also been tough for him. He knows what it is like to perform at this level and he is still an idol in my eyes.”

An upset Jamieson returned the compliment telling the assembled journalists that, “the better man won on the night.”

Holding back the emotion Jamieson continued, “I don’t know what I would have changed about my preparation coming into this meet. I’ve worked harder than ever and I couldn’t have done any more.

“But tonight is not about me, it’s about Ross. He deserved to win tonight as he was the one who stepped up to the mark and is now the fastest man in the world this year for the event. He should enjoy every moment of this.”

Early in the session, Hannah Miley gave the Scottish fans their first reason for celebration with a resounding victory in the 400m Individual Medley. Holding her own in what she considers her weakest leg, the butterfly, Miley was shoulder to shoulder with nearest rival Aimee Willmott of England for most of the race. Willmott was just ahead heading into the final 100m freestyle when Miley seemed to find another gear and, with 50m to go, the race was over, Miley reclaiming her crown in 4:31.76, a new Games record.

A jubilant Miley said after the race,

“I did not expect to go that fast and it hurt a lot. But it’s good to know that I can produce a result like that. I’ve been stuck around the 4:32 barrier for a long time, so a time of 4:31.76 puts me in real contention for World Championships when more of the big guns are competing.

“I will now go and watch my race and analyse it. For me my training is built around different components: swimming, fitness, land training, nutrition and psychology. It’s just about finding the right balance and getting each of them right on the day.

“I have dreamt about this moment, but I didn’t expect to cry on the podium. It was like playing out a film in my mind; seeing all the sacrifices my family and I have made to get to this moment. I wear my heart on my sleeve and that swim was for my dad, my family and it was for me.”

In other events, Dan Wallace, Robbie Renwick and Stephen Milne finished the final of the 400m Freestyle in 5th, 7th and 8th places respectively, while Kathryn Johnstone, Corrie Scott and Andrea Strachan all progressed to tomorrow’s 50m Breaststoke final. Craig McNally made it safely through to tomorrow’s 100m Backstroke final, while Ryan Bennett just missed out, finishing 9th overall.

The quartet of Rachel Masson, Sian Harkin, Lucy Hope and Caitlin McClatchey finished 5th in the 4x100m Freestyle Relay, an event that was won by Australia in a new World record time of 3:30.09.

Murdoch and Jamieson are both due back tomorrow to contest the 100m Breaststroke event along with Craig Benson, while Robbie Renwick starts the defence of the 200m Freestyle crown he won in Delhi. Dan Wallace will also be back in action alongside Lewis Smith and Ross Muir in the 400m Individual Medley, while Kathleen Dawson and Sian Harkin will compete in the 100m Backstroke and 50m Freestyle respectively.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

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