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.