Thứ Sáu, 1 tháng 8, 2014

Commonwealth Games day eight: as it happened


20.50 Gold for Canada’s Meaghan Benfeito in the women’s 10m platform.

Malaysia’s Pandelela Rinong Pamg couldn’t match her earlier standards with

her final dive and she must settle for silver. Canada’s Rose Filion takes

bronze with Tonia Couch in a more than respectable fifth place. Victoria

Vincent finished in 10th, one place behind Sarah Barrow.




20.46 Here comes the women’s 200m final … Blessing Okagbare claims

gold as expected
. It looks for a moment as if the 100m champion peaks

too soon and is faltering in the final 50m but she gets a second wind and

kicks on to take the prize. It’s an England two-three behind the Nigerian as

Jodie Williams takes silver and Bianca Williams wins bronze, both record

personal bests.



20.41 Sarah Barrow rounds off with a 75.20 for a back 2½ somersault

with a 1½ twist. Victoria Vincent signs off with a 63 and gives a little

wave to the camera as her Games come to an end. She only started on the 10m

board a year ago plus she is THIRTEEN so that’s a pretty astonishing

performance no matter what way you look at it. What were you doing when you

were 13? Exactly.



20.37 England’s Jazmin Sawyers has taken an amazing and unexpected

silver in the long jump.



20.33 After more relentless diving with very little splashing and no

top bombing, I repeat no top bombing, England’s Tonia Couch has produced her

best dive so far. It puts her in the bronze medal position (briefly) but

Meaghan Benfeito, Rose Filion and Pandelela Rinong Pamg are having their own

personal dive-off at the top of the standings so couch is pushed back to

fifth. Vicky Vincent has slipped back to 10th.





20.29 Eilidh Child claims the silver medal! She can’t keep up with

world No 1 Kaliese Spencer but there is no shame in that. Child was streets

clear in second. There’s quite a few tears from her and her entourage. I

imagine a big part of her feels ‘thank God that’s over and didn’t go badly’.

That’s what I’d think, but maybe that’s why I’m not an elite athlete. Cue:

500 miles.



20.27 Back at Hampden it’s Eilidh Child time. She’s the poster girl of

these Games. Yo may have heard that mentioned once or twice.



20.24 Back in the pool Mlaysia’s Pandelela Ringong Pamg is now in the

lead with Tonia Couch in secenth, Victoria Vincent back in ninth and Sarah

Barrow in tenth.



20.25 South Africa’s Cornel Fredericks wins the 400m hurdles. England’s

Niall Flannery is in the inside lane but very nearly breaks into a medal

position but has to serrle for fourth. Jehue Gordon of Trinidad and Tobago

is second while Jefferey Gordon of the Bahamas is third. Jamaica’s Annsert

Whyte got a face full of drenched Glasweigan running track when he crashed

into a hurdle on the final turn.



20.17 Another good entry from Victoria Vincent. It has a low degree of

difficult so she ends up with a 53. Meanwhile, back at Hampden the men’s

400m final is about to start.



20.03 No sing of nerves at all for Vicky Vincent whose back 2½

somersault gets a score of 65. Sarah Barrow, too, looks in decent fettle

with a 65.6 for her inward 3½ somersault. Tonia Couch again fails to really

meet her best. Just 57.6 for her. But Malaysia’s Cheong Jun Hoong means

business, landing 9.0s and 10.0s across the board for her second dive.




19.56 Back in the pool we’ve had the first round of dives and

13-year-old Victoria Vincent is in eighth position with a score of 63.00.

Tonia Couch, who is the more realistic medal hopeful here, looked a little

edgy in her dive but still managed a 67.20 which leaves her tied for fifth.

Sarah barrow is ninth.




Nijel Amos beats David Rudisha in the 800m final (GETTY)



19.51 David Rudisha is beaten in the 800m final! Or more to the point Nijel

Amos has won the 800m final!
He kicked 30 metres out and blazed past

Rudisha, who had no response to the Botswanan. When he was required to find

something to deal with the Olympic silver medallist there was nothing there.

Whether that’s injuries or just loss of form it’s hard to know. It doesn’t

really matter. What an upset! South Africa’s Andre Olivier takes bronze.




19.50 Rudisha hits the front early on. The rest better get used to

looking at his back, although will his injuries hamper him? He leads at the

bell.



19.46 The women’s 10m platform final is just underway a full six – six!

– minutes late. All that careful planning to come up with a 19:41 start time

and now this. There are three English competitors in this – Sarah Barrow,

Tonia Couch and 13-year-old Victoria Vincent.



Meanwhile David Rudisha is about to saunter to victory

take part in the 800m final.




David Weir celebrates victory



19.40 David Weir wins with ease! Yet another gold medal for the

Londoner. It’s his first Commonwealth Games medal. It was barely a contest.

he was tucked in in third place for the first lap but when he turned on the

afterburners there was nobody who could live with him.



19.35 It’s time for the Weirwolf. Yep, you guessed it. Former Rangers

defender David ‘Doddie’ Weir is going to come out and do a Michael J Fox in

Teenwolf impression.



The other David Weir is also going for gold in the men’s T54 1500m final.



19.32 England’s Shara Proctor has pulled up as she attempted her first

jump in the long jump final and her Games are over. Canada’s Christabel

Nettey leads after one round with a leap of 6.89m.



19.25 Australia’s Angela Ballard wins the gold in the T54 1500m. Jade

Jones finishes in third place, putting up a real fight right to the line. If

there had been another 20 metres the 18-year-old would have caught Canada’s

Diane Roy who held on for silver.



19.22 England trio Sophie Tolchard, Ellen Falkner and Sian Honnor have

beaten Australia Lynsey Clarke, Karen Murphy and Kelsey Cottrell 22-4 to

claim gold in the lawn bowls triples. They (literally) has the Australia’s

pleading mercy at the end. Lawn bowls being one of the few sports that has a

‘mercy rule’. Imagine how much fun it would be if every sport had that.



19.20 India’s Vikas Shive Gowda has won gold in the discus. Discuss.



19.17 Here’s Gareth A Davies from Glasgow ahead of the women’s T54

1500m which is starting any minute now ..



Jade Jones, fastest in the heats, could put herself on the map here, in the

women’s T54 1500m, with England looking for a gold-silver combination,

Shelly Woods 0.06secs slower in the heats.



Then the Weirwolf himself, David Weir, one of the greatest wheelchair

racers of all time….in the T54 1500m. The Commonwealth title a new one for

Weir, and he’s up against arch-rival Kurt Fearnley of Australia.



Conditions are the worst possible for racing. Will come down to tactics,

and power at the finish.



Suits Weir and in the women’s, Jones.



19.11 Malaysia’s Ooi Tze Liang has won gold in the men’s 3m

springboard, edging out England’s Jack Laughter who made a bit of a mess of

his penultimate dive and was always up against it from then on. Oliver

Dingley claims bronze for England.




Jessica Judd wins her semi final in the Glasgow rain



19.10 Jessica Judd has reached the final of the women’s 800m after

winning her semi final in what is now a proper downpour, though in Glasgow

they may still consider it ‘just a wee drizzle’. Here is the full list of

competitors for tomorrow’s final.




19.03 Keeping up with BBC’s incessant switching of their Commonwealth

Games coverage between BBC1 and BBC2 could be a Commonwealth event all on

its own. I reckon I’d be in with a medal shout at this stage.



18.52 Meanwhile, things are looking good for England in the 3m

springboard final.




18.47 Rasheed Dwyer is impressive in the final heat, exploding as he

comes off the turn and has such a comfortable lead that he eases up in the

final 15m. England’s James Ellington trails away on the home straight and

finishes fourth.




18.40 Warren Weir comfortably wins the second men’s 200m semi final

after Fiji’s Banuve Tabakaucoro gets disqualified for a false start. The

‘one strike and you’re out’ false start rule always seems severe to me. Give

a man a second chance in life. Or at least in a 200m semi final second heat.

This Commonwealth wasn’t built on a rigid and stern enforcement of the rules

which takes precedent all compassion for our fellow man. Oh.




18.32 England’s Danny Talbot reaches the 200m final finishing in a dead

heat with Jamaica’s Jason Livermore. Talbot’s dip over the line proves

crucial in the tightest of photo finishes.




18.30 Next up is the men’s 200m semi finals. Meanwhile, as expected,

Oliver Dingley has been hauled in in the men’s 3m springboard final.

Malaysia’s Ahmad Amsyar Asman is in the gold medal position with England’s

jack laugher currently in bronze.



18.23 England’s Bianca Williams storms to victory in the final 200m

heat, easing up in the final 30 yards which harms her time (and lane

placement in the final) but it was an impressive performance nonetheless.

Williams and Blessing Okagbare were by far the most impressive from those

heats.



18.17 Here are the results of the second (of three) women’s 200m semi

final. The top two from each semi go into the final plus the two best

runners up who, as it stands, both come from the first semi final (see 18:07

below).




18.13 It’s nearly time for the diving.




In fact it is already time for the diving – the men’s 3m springboard final is

underway and England’s Oliver Dingley is on the gold medal position at the

moment. There’s a long way to go yet, however.



18.07 The women’s 200m semi finals have just begun at a rain-sodden

Hampden Park. Blessing Okagbare eases to victory in the first semi with

England’s Jodie Williams storming through to claim second place in an

impressive 22.64secs.




18.04 It’s a gold medal for Rebecca Downie in the uneven bars.

Australia’s Larissa Miller claims silver with Ruby Harrold in bronze.



18.00 Only England’s Ruby Harrold can deny her compatriot Rebecca

Downie a gold medal.




17.45 The women’s uneven bars final is well underway. Wales’s Elizabeth

Beddoe was up first registering a score of 11.633. England’s Rebecca Downie

was up next, moving into the gold medal position with 14.666. Australia’s

Larissa Miller falls just short of Downie with 14.566.




Deep fried gold medal, anyone? Dan Keatings celebrates pommel horse gold

(PA)



17.32 Dan Keatings, Max Whitlock and Louis Smith are presented with

their pommel horse medals. Meanwhile, England are about to take on Australia

in the women’s lawn bowls triples match.



17.23 Amazing to think that this was our new pommel horse overlord Dan

Keatings just a few months ago …




17.16 Dan Keatings wins gold for Scotland on the pommel horse! Max

Whitlock is second and Louis Smith claims bronze.



17.15 To my mind that’s not as slick as Keatings’ routine. He seemed to

hesitate on a couple of occasions and his legs clipped the horse on another.

He may pip Smith to second but I doubt he’ll beat the Scot.



17.10 Singapore’s ZJ Gabriel Gan is up next and gets 14.266. Scotland’s

Dan Purvis is next but falls just outside the medal places with 14.516.

here’s Max Whitlock. He’s the only one who can knock Dan Keatings off his

(pommel) horse.



17.04 Here comes Louis Smith. He’s promised big things … He spins

round and round like a show-off on a rodeo but when he pops himself in the

air for a move I like to call the ‘upside down splits’ (NB: this is probably

not its official title) he fails to get the lift in his left leg and pops

off the horse with a smile. Despite that slight error the judges send him

into second place.



17.01 England’s Liam Pitchford and Tin-Tin Ho are into the table tennis

mixed doubles semi final. Meanwhile Dan Keatings has just moved into the

gold medal position with a stunning 16.058 on the pommel horse. Over

to you Louis Smith and Max Whitlock.



16.55 The men’s pommel horse final has just begun. Canada’s Anderson

Loran is in the lead though he’s the first person to go so that doesn’t mean

much. In fact it means nothing at all.




16.45 Gareth A Davies sends word from the field of a t’riffic sounding

new Commonwealth Games book …



Brian Oliver’s book The Commonwealth Games: Extraordinary Stories Behind

The Medals is typically brilliant by the once Telegraph Sports News Editor

and Sports Editor of The Observer. Brian is working as Venue Media Manager

at the weightlifting here, as he was at London 2012. He’s spent the last

couple of years painstakingly researching a rich seam of Commonwealth Games

history.



Brian explained a few of them, like Emmanuel Ifeajuna, the first ever black

African to win a gold medal, in any sport in any event. He won high jump

gold in 1954 and became a national hero in Nigeria, but after staging a coup

was arrested for treachery and shot by firing squad.



Or Precious McKenzie, the amazing story of the Queen’s favourite strongman.



Or this one… boxer Frankie Lucas, and the 1974 Games.



He came from a line of British middleweight amateur boxing champions. The

line of succession went … Alan Minter (1971) , John Conteh (1970), Frankie

Lucas (1972 1973).



“Lucas won the twice and the bloke he beat in the final was Carl

Speare from Liverpool. But when it came to picking the teams for the

Commonwealth Games the selectors didn’t pick him because it was alleged he

had an attitude problem,” Oliver explained. “Which he may well

have had, but so wait.”



In between times, England selected Speare for the team.



“He fought for the Sir Philip Game club in Croydon which was set up by

the commissioner for the Metropolitan police, of the same name. A policeman

at the club [Ken Rimington] knew that he’d been born in St Vincent and so

the policeman set up the Saint Vincent Boxing Association. He was then

eligible to compete in the Commonwealth Games.”



“He didn’t have any money. He approached Scotland and a bloke called

Frank Hendry, who’s still alive, said ‘We’ll pay for you to go to New

Zealand. You’ll live with us, travel with us, so long as you’ll be a

sparring partner for all our fighters’.



“He stayed with Scotland, carried the flag for Saint Vincent. The

really good team at the time was Zambia. Zambia, for political reasons, were

associated with Cuba and the Cubans went and trained in Zambia. So they were

really, really good.



“He fought in the semi-finals and he fought the bloke he’d beaten in

the ABAs. He beat him, got to the final and then beat a Zambian and won the

gold medal. Then he disappeared to Saint Vincent for about three months. He

was quoted as saying he went to St Vincent “kicked back a bit and had

some herbal relief”.



Great stories. Book’s full of them. “Rich, varied and as far-reaching

as the Commonwealth Games themselves” – says Clare Balding. I’ll second

that.



Commonwealth Games: The Extraordinary stories behind the Medals is

available from Bloomsbury
.




16.28 Claudia Fragapane has just had her first attempt at the vault,

trying to haul in Canada’s Ellie Black. There’s a furious amount of twisting

and turning, but it knocks her slightly wide of the mark where she would

have ideally landed. If she was on a trapeze wire (which I assume is what

all this is building towards) she would have fallen. The judges give her a

score of 14.766 which is the best of all the first attempts.



Her second attempt is (to my mind) even better in execution, though it may be

a slightly easier routine. It would take me about 10 minutes to climb up on

a pommel horse so it all looks pretty impressive to me. The power in her

arms as she pushes off the vault is incredible.



The judges are taking an age to make up their minds. This wouldn’t wash on

Strictly. Finally the result comes in. It’s a gold medal for Claudia

Fragapane!!! The 16-year-old has her third gold of the Games.




15.36 England’s Max Whitlock has won his third gold medal of the Games.

This time it’s in the men’s floor where he has beaten Canada’s Scott Morgan.

Stand aside Louis Smith. Strictly Come Dancing English

gymnastics has a new star.




15.28 Full time in the hockey. Look away now if you’re a Scotland fan.

It’s finished: Scotland 0 Australia 5.



15.21 Interesting comments for gold medallist Alex Dowsett: “No

one wanted that more than me. I was disappointed not to be picked for the

Tour de France. I’ve spent the past month angry. Ever since I’ve been a kid

I’ve been able to pull something out of the bag when I’m really, really

angry.”



Fair enough. Anyway, here are the top 10 in the men’s time trial.





15.15 Alex Dowsett wins gold for England!! He beats Rohan Dennis

by 9.30 seconds. The Australian must settle for silver. Geraint Thomas takes

bronze.



15.12 Australia’s Rohan Dennis is now in the gold medal position in the

time trial. He’s knocked four seconds off Geraint Thomas’s lead, finishing

in a time of 47:51.08. Only Alex Dowsett can now deny him gold. It’s going

to be tight.



15.05 Svein Tuft is the new clubhouse leader of the men’s time trial.

Not for long though. Geraint Thomas has pipped the Canadian. 47:55.82 is the

time to beat for Alex Dowsett.



15.00 Scotland’s Darren Burnett has beaten Australia’s Aron Sheriff in

the semi final of the lawn bowls (or curling on grass as it’s sometimes

never called. He’s into the final where he’ll face Canada’s Ryan ‘Simply

The’ Bester*.



* That may not be his actual nickname. It should be, but it’s probably not.



14.47 Alex Dowsett has a seven-second lead at the second time check.

It’s looking good for the Englishman. David Millar has slipped even further

behind – he’s back in ninth, a full 50 (fifty) seconds behind Dowsett, whom

he beat to gold in Delhi four years ago.




14.43 It’s half-time in the men’s hockey and the score is: Scotland

0 Australia 3
. At least the Scots have a chance for revenge in the lawn

bowls where Darren Burnett leads Australia’s Aron Sheriff 17-15 after 22

ends. Is there any revenge quite as sweet as lawn bowls revenge? Not in my

book.



14.35 Alex Dowsett is fastest through the first time check with a time

of 8:05.50 but the real surprise is that David Millar is back in eighth

witha time of 8:26.91. That’s way off the pace. I don’t think Millar will be

among the medals tonight.




14.26 Geraint Thomas is the fastest through the first time check,

though that is probably to be expected. I imagine the time will be beaten a

few times over the next 20 minutres or so. Home hero and reigning champion

David Millar is out on the track and he receives a predictably racous

reception from the crowd. Millar is the last to go out. I think it’s going

to be between him and Alex Dowsett to claim gold. You heard ot here first.



14.20 English trio Tonia Couch, Sarah Barrow and Victoria Vincent, who

is just 13-years-old, have qualified for the final of the 10m platform. That

final will begin at 19.41 later tonight. Not 19.40. Not 19.42. Unless the judges’

electronic scoring wands are on the blink
again. Otherwise it will be

about 23.00.



14.13 Good afternoon good folk of the Commonwealth and beyond. One by

one the cyclists are coming off the ramp to clock up some miles on the

streets of Glasgow. Geraint Thomas is the latest to hit the streets. Here’s

a map of the 40km circuit.




13.54 We are just a few minutes away from the second batch of drivers

setting off on their way in the Men’s Time Trial. Hadi still leads the way,

and by some distance.



13.43 More funny names, after Tin-Tin Ho …




13.35 In the Men’s Time Trial the gents first off are beginning to

finish now. Rwanda’s cyclist Janvier Hadi leads the way now, by about five

minutes (!!), with 54:44.18. There are some riders who have not even set

off. Defending champion David Millar will be last to go.



13.28 More on diving: Jack Laugher’s hopes of a second Commonwealth

Games gold remain on course after the Englishman led the way in qualifying

for Thursday evening’s 3m springboard final.



The 19-year-old has already topped the podium at the Royal Commonwealth Pool

in Edinburgh after triumphing in the 1m springboard category on Wednesday

night.



And the former world junior champion easily qualified for Thursday night’s

final as he finished with a combined score of 465.80 in the preliminary

session.



The teenager said:



That is a good score for a prelim and I feel good. Winning the 1m last

night was amazing. I have dreamed of winning a major competition like that

since I was a kid but only hoped that if I put in a good performance I’d get

a medal. But to get gold with a new PB is fantastic. So that has put me in a

great place ahead of the 3m final. It’s my main event and after winning the

prelim I do feel confident. But every competition is different. You can go

from being on fire one day to being absolutely rubbish the next. That’s

sport.



13.24 Some diving info:




13.20 It’s not been a good day for the Aussies, what with Athletics

Australia suspending its British head coach Eric Hollingsworth after his

outspoken attack on Olympic sprint hurdles champion Sally Pearson. In fact,

it seems their Commonwealth Games crown could be slipping. They have topped

the medals standings at every Commonwealth Games since 1990 but slipped to

second place behind England on Wednesday, trailing 38-35 in the gold medal

count. With the games ending on Sunday, Australia looked unlikely to regain

the lead because swimming, where the team won 19 of the total 44 golds, has

been completed.



13.13 A bit more news on that arrest of the Australian athlete.



Weightlifter Francois Etoundi, who won the bronze medal in the 77-kilogram

(170-pound) division on Sunday, was stripped of his games accreditation

after being arrested over an alleged assault during an altercation [believed

to be with a Welsh competitor] in the athletes’ village.



Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper described it as a “very

serious incident” that was witnessed by many people in the village

early Wednesday. The Cameroon-born Etoundi was due in court in Glasgow later

Thursday. Hooper added:





I made it clear I didn’t want him back in the village when violent behavior is

asserted. The games have to be safe and secure. It is a big village like a

city that has developed over a very short period of time. People have to

respect each other’s space and this sort of behavior will not be tolerated.



13.07 Some wrestling news now: Bolton wrestler Louisa Porogovska will

fight for a Commonwealth Games bronze medal after losing her 55kgs

semi-final to India’s Babita Kumari at the SECC.




Scrap: Babita Kumar, right, holds onto Kathryn Marsh in the quarter

final (AP)



Porogovska, who had retired from the sport after Delhi Games in 2010 to start

a family with husband and coach Anatoliy before returning to competitive

action in the run-up to Glasgow, will take on Scotland’s Kathryn Marsh this

evening.



There are also some other hopes for the Home-Nation wrestlers via the

repachage: Londoner Cloe Spiteri was defeated in her 63kgs semi-final, so

will contest the bronze medals fight later, along with Wales’ Sarah Connolly

and Alex Gladkov, son of Scotland’s national team coach Volodymyr, in the

men’s 65kgs.



12.55 In Table Tennis news England’s mixed doubles pair, Liam Pitchford

and Tin-Tin Ho, took just over 20 minutes to see off their New Zealand

rivals to advance. They are through to the quarter finals in three straight

games.



Amazingly Tin-Tin is only 15 and her table-obsessed father, Charles, named her

after the sport (T.T. geddit?), and even more amusingly she has a brother

called Ping (and she was nearly named Pong).



Here she is winning a point:




12.52 Meanwhile Scotland’s Katie Archibald walked off the time trial

course wondering what might have been after feeling she had more energy to

burn. The 20-year-old was third at the first two time checks but eventually

finished fifth, 64 seconds slower Villumsen and 16 seconds off claiming her

second Commonwealth Games medal. Here’s what she said:





I had far too much left at the end. It’s a really long finishing straight and

I suddenly realised ‘good God, look how fast a bike can go’. I enjoyed the

section with the lumps and twists, that’s what I really love to ride, and I

just lost it in those long drags. It’s a mental thing, I knew that’s what I

was going to struggle with. I was tootling along thinking ‘try harder man,

try harder’, and seeing the heart-rate drop. I’m going to have to work on

that flat pain. The only thing that was keeping me going on the country

lanes was the crowd.



12.44 Nice detail now about the winner of the Women’s Time Trial

winner, Linda Villumsen: she is the partner of Laura Trott’s sister, Emma,

who retired after May’s Friends Life Women’s Tour.





12.39 Perhaps unsurprisingly it has not taken long for this Keynan’s

bike has an issue. Poor Suleiman Kangangi … This even before the first

checkpoint.




12.35 The 40km (well 38.4km if you want to be exact) Men’s Time Trial

is now underway. It’s a Kenyan rider first. Apparently they don’t have any

mechanics with them, and have to fettle the bikes themselves.



12.18 Some team England updates now:




And …




12.10 There are some quotes from England hockey captain Barry Middleton

now, after his team’s earlier 3-1 win over Canada secured their place in the

sem-final against reigning champions and best-ranked Australia.





We are very happy with that, we did what we set out to do which was control

the game. It felt like it was comfortable the whole way through and we just

kept on playing our game. We wanted to put out a performance that took our

momentum into the semi-finals. It should be fun [taking on Australia],

that’s who you want to play in big tournaments. We have set our stall out

over the last few years that we want to be in the big games and be in

semi-finals. We are consistently making semi-finals with this group of

players but we will go out there, give as good as we get, and we have belief

in the team that we can beat anyone on our day.



11.58 And, as promised, here is a snap of the Men’s Squash Doubles.

India are currently trailing Scotland.




11.55 And the medal ceremony for the Women’s Time Trial is now taking

place. Emma Pooley, who will retire after these Games, accepts her silver

medal:




And Linda Villumsen, who was six seconds quicker, looks happy. And why not?!




11.49 Ben Bloom has more on that Usain Bolt selfie story now.



Usain Bolt has been caught up in more controversy at the Commonwealth

Games after two Glasgow 2014 security guards were reportedly sacked for

taking their photograph with the Jamaican sprinter. Bolt was training at

Hampden Park earlier in the week when two security guards approached him and

asked for a “selfie”, according to the Evening

Standard
. The two guards have reportedly been relieved of their duties

and the 15,000 Commonwealth Games volunteers, known as Clyde-siders, have

been warned to remain professional at all times and not to approach

athletes. It is not only volunteers who have been caught up in the mania

surrounding Bolt, with a press conference descending into farce last week

when an Australian journalist asked for her own photo with the sprinter.

“Usain, we’re not here as journalists, we’re here as fans,” she said, before

requesting her own “selfie” with Bolt. The Jamaican, who is not competing in

the individual events in Glasgow, begins his campaign in the 4x100m relay

heats on Friday.



11.44 Oh, the BBC’s coverage is a replay of some action slightly

earlier, my apologies. This has just dropped on the wires: England skip Paul

Brown has managed to keep his nerve to deny Scotland a Commonwealth Games

lawn bowls bronze medal in their para-sport Open Pairs play-off at

Kelvingrove.



Brown’s final bowl of the 15th end earned the two shots required to force an

extra end which England who handsomely to claim a 16-12 victory and seal a

place on the podium.



The 35-year-old from Bristol praised team-mates Bob Love and David Fisher for

bouncing back after their semi-final defeat to South Africa on Wednesday.



Brown said:





It was tough and the conditions didn’t really help but it was a new day and we

were determined to get on that green and make sure of a medal. It was just a

case of sticking with it and we managed to pick up the two and forced the

extra end. The team bowled fantastically well in the extra end. As a team we

have played well this week and even when we have been down we’ve fought back.



11.40 Over in the para Lawn Bowls bronze-medal match England are taking

on Scotland, and the English have just spoiled the party with a decent shot.

It’s certainly tense, and I’ll do my best to fil you in with the details.




After End 15 it’s 12-all.



11.38 There is currently doubles squash being played, which always

amazes me: how can you fit so many people in a squash court with the ball

fizzing about so quickly at that level and make it entertaining? I’ll try

and find some pictures for you.



11.35 The Men’s Time Trial, by the way, will be starting in about an

hour. While we wait for that here is a nice tweet about something that

happened yesterday.





11.29 Here’s Emma Pooley after winnning her silver medal in the Time

Trial:





It was close, but I am really happy to be on the podium. I don’t think I could

have done any better. It was really challenging on the corners, and I also

fell at one corner earlier on and I was a little more cautious after that.

That costs you seconds. It is a little disappointing to be leading when you

finish and then beaten by the only person who could possibly do so. I’m

really grateful to have my opportunity to have been racing properly for

seven or eight years. It’s an opportunity that not everyone has, and I’m

glad I can finish with a medal. We will see how it goes on Sunday.



The woman who did pip Pooley, Linda Villumsen, had this to say:





Everything worked from start to finish, for once. It’s an amazing feeling.



11.21 And the three top Time Trial riders sit in the throne waiting for

confirmation of their medals Villumsen takes a call. “I love you too,”

she rather sheepishly says as the camera zooms in on her, unfairly.




11.18 And here are the final standings:




11.15 And the Danish-born New Zealander has bumped Pooley to second on

the podium. What a final last 10km by her! Villumsen won silver four years

ago, and certainly saved her best until last there.




11.14 Pooley has finished and only Linda Villumsen can beat her …




11.12 It would be amazing for the Englishwoman in what will be her last

competitive games: her last ever race will be on Sunday in the Road Race.

She is closing in on the finish now. She is out of her seat and sprinting.

This is the last time we will see her at a major championship, the world

champion.



11.06 It’s looking good for Emma Pooley, though. This is how it looks

with about 10 minutes to go:




11.04 And Joanna Rowsell has finished her race, after gold on the track

she has been under-par here. And there are suspicions that she is a little

under the weather.




10.55 Amazing scenes in the Time Trial. Just after crossing the second

check point Emma Pooley has over taken Aussie Shara Gillow in fifth, and

another rider! The Englishwoman has taken 24:06 minutes to cycle 17.1km, and

that’s 1.30 seconds quicker than rival Linda Villumsen. There are about 15

minutes to go.




10.46 Great breaking story … Two security guards have apparently been

sacked for taking a selfie photograph with Usain Bolt. Well that’s a bit

s***, isn’t it. I recall organisers promoting the Glasgow Games at the

‘selfie games’ or even the ‘Commonwealthie Games’. See

this
.



And there are plenty of people working at the Games while also taking selfies

Commonwealthies, so it seems a little harsh to me that two chaps were

marched off the venue for asking the world’s fastest ever man for a quick

snap. Unprofessional, perhaps, but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.





10.41 Good news for Emma Pooley, she is going well in the 30km Time

Trial. She has just gone through the 6.4km checkpoint and she is ahead of

rival Linda Villumsen, the Danish-born rider competing for New Zealand …

at least we think she is, though there seems to be an issue with her

transponder …




10.27 Jackson has a chance for a hat-trick at the death in the hockey,

but his shot from his short corner hits the upright. It’s ended England

three Canada one.




England had 23 shots and only scored three goals, which is a little

disappointing. They will need to be much more clinical against Australia,

who battered them at the recent World Cup.




10.24 In the hockey Canada have pulled one back with two minutes of the

game to go. It’s neatly taken from captain Scott Tupper, and that makes it

3-1 to England.



10.22 Roswell will snake through the rainy streets of Glasgow, and

fellow Englishwoman Emma Pooley is also in with a shout for a podium finish.



Later on in the Men’s 40km Time Trial we will be seeing Alex Dowsett, Geraint

Thomas and David Millar going for gold.



10.19 England’s Joanna Roswell has just been sent off on her way in the

Women’s 30km Time Trial, and she is being tipped for a medal. Here she is:




10.16 Meanwhile it’s 3-0 to England in the men’s hockey, and they look

certain for victory over Canada and a place in the semi-final against

Australia, who are intimidating foes: they have won all the golds on offer

in the male competition in the Commonwealth Games. Ashely Jackson was the

scorer of the third goal, and it was a neat shot from a short corner.




10.14 Talking about shooting off one’s mouth, Gareth A Davies

has given me a good steer on a story about English shooter Rachel

Carrie
who had a hotel in Dundee call the police on her, fearing she

was going to start some massacre.



The 30-year-old from Leeds spent four hours being quizzed over the firearm,

despite producing a shotgun certificate and informing the good policemen

that she was part of Glasgow 2014.



I got to the hotel at around 11pm … first the staff asked me if I had

brought a rifle on to the premises. I replied no, it is a shotgun, and tried

to explain my role in the Commonwealth Games. But they said it was illegal

to have a shotgun in a hotel. It is not illegal to have a shotgun in a

hotel. They called the police and I was questioned until 2.30am. I was

really embarrassed. I have taken my Perazzi 12-gauge shotgun around the

world, I have been to America and to most European countries and this has

never happened before.



10.04 Just an update now on s***gate from yesterday. The Times have run

the full transcript (on page five of today’s paper). It’s not very long.



The encounter was reportedly as follows:



Katie Gibbons (KG, Times reporter): Hi Usain, I’m Katie Gibbons, a

reporter from The Times. Nice to meet you.
Usain Bolt (UB): Hi.
KG: How are you?
UB: (Shrugs)
KG: So are you enjoying the games? Are you having fun?
UB: No.
KG: Really, why not?
UB: I’m just not… it’s a bit s***. (Shrugs, looks up to grey sky).
KG: What do you mean?
UB: I’ve only been here two days.
KG: Is it like the Olympics?
UB: Nah. Olympics were better.
KG: Really, how?
UB: (Shrugs).
KG: Where are you off to now?
UB: To do some business.




Personally, I want audio. It was a bit silly if Bolt did say that, but it was

a 10-second exchange and was it on the record?



09.54 An update in the hockey from Rod Gilmour



England men are edging closer to securing a semi-final showdown with world

champs Australia. With 30 minutes remaining it’s 2-0 to England after a

wealth of possession against Canada. Two fine goals as well. One off Ashley

Jackson’s stick – far from a fluke – before England’s playmaker sets up

captain Barry Middleton. A chopper lurks over head. An Aussie spy in the

camp to work out how to stop a free flowing Jackson?



09.42 At a hastily-arranged press conference Australian Commonwealth

Games Association chef de mission Steve Moneghett has just confirmed that

Hollingsworth has be excluded from Australia’s Games team with immediate

effect.



09.30 Just onthe Sally Pearson / golden girl thing, it really is worth

watching the YouTube clip of her winning the 110m hurdles two years ago at

the Olympics (I can’t embed it as that function has annoyingly been

disabled, but click

here
and you will have it).




Golden girl: Sally Pearson (meeting The Queen) is the star of Aussie

athletics (PA)



09.15 And there is more bad news for the Aussies (shame!).



A man will appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court today following an alleged assault

at the Commonwealth Games athletes’ village.



The 29-year-old suspect, reportedly an Australian competitor, was detained by

police on Wednesday morning following a disturbance at Dalmarnock site in

Glasgow’s east end.



The man is said to have assaulted a Welsh athlete and the Sydney Morning

Herald
on Thursday reported that Team Wales said a member of its team

was helping police.



A Team Wales spokesman told the newspaper:



We’re aware of an incident that occurred overnight involving a member of

Team Wales and we’re currently working with Police Scotland to assist them

with their inquiries. Whilst the facts around the matter are being

established it would be wrong for us to comment any further.



A Police Scotland spokesman added:





A 29-year-old man has been arrested and is presently detained in police

custody in connection with an alleged assault following an altercation

within the athletes’ village in Glasgow on Wednesday.



09.00 Some breaking news first up: Athletics Australia has

suspended its British head coach Eric Hollingsworth after his outspoken

attack on Olympic sprint hurdles champion Sally Pearson ahead of her

Commonwealth Games title defence.



Hollingsworth labelled Pearson a “bad example”, highlighting his

anger that she did not attend the team’s pre-Games training camp.




Man in the middle: Eric Hollingsworth (GETTY)



The 27-year-old athlete has arrived in Glasgow as the undoubted star of the

Australia track and field team and looking to retain the 100 metres hurdles

title she won in Delhi four years ago.



She was named athletics team captain for the Games, during which reports have

emerged about her relationship with Hollingsworth breaking down.



Former decathlete Hollingsworth, who joined Athletics Australia in 2009, said

in a statement on Wednesday: “Sally was coming (to the training camp)

all along until the last minute when she opted to take a race in London.



“What’s lost here is she’s the team captain and there’s a reasonable

expectation she’d be in the camp ahead of something as major as the

Commonwealth Games. Her no-show sets a bad example to the entire national

team.”



Announcing the 51-year-old’s suspension in an official statement, Athletics

Australia stated the following:



Athletics Australia is bitterly disappointed that Eric Hollingsworth has

chosen to make a statement to the media at a time when our focus as a group

should be wholly on supporting our athletes’ performances. He acted without

the authority of Athletics Australia and in contravention of the specific

instructions of the chief executive officer. Athletics Australia condemns in

the strongest terms his disparaging comments about Sally Pearson and his

timing. We have therefore suspended Eric Hollingsworth as an employee of

Athletics Australia until such time as the Athletics Australia board can

convene to consider the matter. Action in regards to Eric Hollingsworth’s

role on the Commonwealth Games team will be determined by the Australian

Commonwealth Games Association, as the body responsible for the team.



Pearson races in the third and final heat of the 100m hurdles on Thursday

evening. The final takes place on Friday night and she is expected to battle

for the gold with England’s Tiffany Porter.



It seems worthwhile reminding ourselves what the medals’ table looks like at

this point:



Country Position G S B Total



1 England 38 35 32 105

2 Australia 35 32 39 106

3 Canada 22 7 22 51

4 Scotland 13 12 14 39

5 New Zealand 12 10 14 36



08.45 Good morning Commonwealth

Games
fans, and welcome to day eight. Here is a quick run-down of

the schedule and highlights:



THREE EVENTS NOT TO MISS



1. Athletics – Men’s T54 1500m

David Weir has won six Paralympic titles, been crowned world champion six

times, but never won a Commonwealth gold. The Englishman’s main rival will

be Kurt Fearnley of Australia.



2. Gymnastics – Men’s pommel horse

After helping England to all-round team glory, Louis Smith will be hoping to

cap off his comeback by regaining the Commonwealth Games pommel horse title

he first won at Melbourne in 2006.




Going for (another) gold: Louis Smith in the pommel horse (PA)



3. Athletics – Men’s 200m

Jamaica will be looking to follow their 100m success with victory over the

longer sprint and have a strong hand including Hason Livermore, Rasheed

Dwyer and Warren Weir, the world silver medallist.



YOU MIGHT LIKE … Weightlifting

The Commonwealth Games has many activities to thrill the senses: extraordinary

speed, magnificent agility, jaw-dropping juxtapositions of intelligence and

stamina. Yet for sheer awesome power, look no further than today’s finals of

the men’s +105kg weightlifting, where you will see very muscly, very sweaty

men – largely bearded – lift extremely heavy things, all while emitting the

kinds of sounds which would normally prompt a visit from the local council’s

noise-pollution officers. In the absence of the usual dominant eastern

European athletes, it is an open field, too.



FULL SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY JULY 31



ATHLETICS

1800–2245 Semi-finals. Men 200m. Finals. Men Para-sport 1500m T54, 200m, 800m,

400m hurdles, discus throw. Preliminaries. Women 800m round 1, 100m hurdles

round 1, pole vault, discus throw. Semi-finals. Women 200m. Finals. Women

Para-sport 1500m T54, 200m, 400m hurdles, long jump.



BADMINTON

1300–1700 Preliminaries. Singles and doubles.

1830–2230 Preliminaries. Singles and doubles.



CYCLING

1000 – 1600 Men Individual time trial. Women Individual time trial.



DIVING

1000–1330 Preliminaries. Men 3m springboard. Women 10m platform.

1800–2130 Finals. Men 3m springboard. Finals. Women 10m platform.



GYMNASTICS – ARTISTIC

1500 – 1900 Finals. Men Apparatus finals: Floor, pommel horse, rings. Women

Apparatus finals: Vault, uneven bars.



HOCKEY

0900–1230 Preliminaries. Men England v Canada, Malaysia v New Zealand.

1400–1730 Preliminaries. Men Australia v Scotland, South Africa v India.

1900–2300 Women Classification match 9 v 10, Classification match 7 v 8.



LAWN BOWLS

0845–1545 Quarter-finals. Men Singles, fours. Semi-finals. Men Singles. Women

Pairs. Semi-finals. Women Pairs, triples. Para-sport open triples B6/B7/B8

gold and bronze medal matches.

1730–2045 Semi-finals. Men Fours. Women Triples gold and bronze medal matches.



NETBALL

Classification 2 matches.



SQUASH

1130–1600 Preliminaries. Men Doubles knockout 1-16. Quarter-finals. Women

Doubles.

1730–2100 Preliminaries. Men Doubles knockout 1-16. Quarter-finals. Women

Doubles. Mixed Doubles pools.



TABLE TENNIS

0930–1430 Preliminaries. Men Singles round 1. Doubles round 3. Women Singles

round 3. Doubles rounds 1 and 2. Mixed Doubles round 4.

1600–2130 Preliminaries. Men Singles round 2. Quarter-finals. Men Doubles.

Women Singles. Mixed Doubles.



WEIGHTLIFTING

1530–1800 Finals. Men +105kg Group A.



WRESTLING

1000–1230 Preliminaries, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Repechage. Men

Freestyle 65kg, 86kg. Women Freestyle 55kg, 63kg.

1630–1930 Finals. Men Freestyle 65kg, 86kg. Women Freestyle 55kg, 63kg.



Commonwealth Games day eight: as it happened

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