Commonwealth Games: Live blog day 7
21.18: In other ball and racket/paddle action, Sean Doherty and Niall Cameron have beaten Jersey 3-0 in their second round Men’s Doubles match.
21.09: Another strong showing from Scotland on the badminton court today as the Men’s Doubles duo of Paul van Rietvelde and Robert Blair defeated the Maldives pair 2-0. They will now take their place in the Round of 16.
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Hide Ad21.03: Scotland’s Guy Learmonth has qualified for the final of the Men’s 800m. The unfancied Scot picked up the pace around the back end and was in third going down the final 100m. He looked to have completely ran out of energy with 50m to go but, roared on by the Hampden crowd, he found the required strength to finish just ahead of Ricardo Cunningham. The Jamaican dipped at the finish line and could have taken it had the lunge not come 0.02secs too late. David Rudisha, the much fancied Kenyan runner, won the heat.
20.55: Canada’s Derek Drouin has won gold in the Men’s Hugh Jump. He set the mark of 2.31 with all but one of his competitors out of the running. Only Kyriakos Ioannou could take it from him, but he failed on his final attempt at 2.33 and settled for silver. England’s Chris Baker jumped the bronze medal winning height, but because he failed an original attempt on the height already achieved by Michael Mason, the third placed prize went to the Canadian. Scotland’s Raymond Bobrownicki was ninth.
20.37: Kirani James sets a new Games record to win the Men’s 400m. The Grenadan runner was patient over his first 150m but then turned it on in style and always looked the favourite down the final 100m. England’s Martyn Rooney (the bearded sprinter) didn’t start well enough and despite a strong finish he couldn’t get himself a medal, finishing in fourth. Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) took silver and Lalonde Gordon (Trinidad & Tobago) won bronze. It is the first ever gold medal for an athlete from Grenada.
20.26: Greg Rutherford, the Olympic champion from London 2012, has added Commonwealth gold to his haul after winning the Men’s Long Jump Final. The English athlete pushed ahead with an 8.20 on his third attempt and wasn’t caught. His teammates Chris Tomlinson and JJ Jegede finished fifth and seventh, respectively.
20.09: Scotland couldn’t end their Netball tournament on a high, losing a close encounter with Northern Ireland earlier. Read Laura Cotton’s report for the reaction.
20.02: It was a Kenya 1-2-3 in the final of the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase. Milcah Chemos Cheywa set a season best but it wasn’t enough to beat teammate Purity Cherotich Kirui to the finish line. Joan Kipkemoi came in third. Scottish runner Eilish McColgan ran a tremendous race to finish sixth. The 23-year old has battled numerous health and injury problems, most notably arrhythmia, but she is finally reaching peak fitness and this performance should give her confidence going into future Games.
19.50: James Heatly was Mr Consistent in his first top level diving event. The grandson of Peter Heatly, a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, finished ninth in the Men’s 1m Springboard Final. It was more about the experience than harbouring winning aspirations and the 17-year old did himself proud, scoring less than 55.50 points only once and even finishing with a flourish by registering a 65.10 on his final dive.
19.43: The last Scottish boxer in medal contention today was eliminated at the quarter-final stage. Aqeel Ahmed, the Dundee born flyweight from Motherwell, faced a tough opponent in world ranked Devendro Laishram. It was a close fight until the end of round two where the Indian opponent delivered a huge right-hand knockdown. Until that point the Scot had been shading the round but it was enough to put him in a 2-0 deficit and he never regained the momentum.
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Hide Ad19.37: Apologies! Gremlins got into the system. Bear with us because there’s plenty of action to tell you about.
18.46: Scotland’s netball team have lost their final group game, going down 37-32 to Northern Ireland. There was no chance for either side to progress, it was merely a case of bragging rights since the victor finished ahead of the loser in the final table.
18.07: The Scottish badminton pairing of Patrick MacHugh and Martin Campbell are through to the last 16 of the Men’s Doubles after dispatching their Maldives’ opponents.
17.59: And things go from bad to worse on the bowling green. Scotland’s gold medal hopes are ended in the Open Triples B6/B7/B8 Semi-Final where New Zealand bettered them 13-9. They’ll still get the chance to salvage something in the Bronze Medal Match. The news that Scotland’s Men’s Fours have won their group match over Wales is only slight consolation.
17.48: Bad news from Kelvingrove where Scotland have been eliminated from the Women’s Triples. The team of Claire Johnston, Lauren Baillie and Margaret Letham were beaten 21-12 by South Africa in the quarter-final.
17.40: We’re just under an hour before the evening session of track and field gets started with the Men’s High Jump. In the meantime, read more about one Scottish medal winner who hasn’t quite received the same attention as his predecessors. That’s because the television broadcast was switched off moments before Mark Dry’s bronze medal in the Men’s Hammer Throw was made official. Stuart Bathgate’s report fills in the details.
17.01: There it is! Viorel Ekto, the Moldovan who has been a Scottish citizen since 2002, has won the 39th medal of these Games for Team Scotland. The wrestler defeated Adam Vella by 10 points to nil in the Men’s 61kg Bronze Medal Final. Just to clarify, it will be a medal he is presented with and not a championship belt.
16.50: Keatings’s silver was medal No.38 for Team Scotland. Has No.39 arrived already? Unfortunately not. Shannon Hawke loses the Bronze Medal Women’s FS 53kg Match in the Wrestling to Mpho Madi (South Africa). Nigeria’s Odunayo Adekuoroye was victorious in the gold medal contest.
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Hide Ad16.39: Earlier today Kirsty Gilmour made it into the last 16 of Women’s Badminton Singles. Read her reaction to today’s win.
16.26: A modest score would have won it for Max Whitlock but he still goes all out on the last apparatus, claiming the gold in style with a score of 15,100. The Englishman dominated throughout, registering highest score on four of six apparatus. Keatings’s teammates Dan Purvis and Frank Baines finished fourth and sixth, respectively.
16.18: Wilson with a terrific routine of his own! He needs 15.099 to defeat Keatings and... he doesn’t get it. Daniel Keatings wins Scotland’s first medal of the day, taking silver in the Artistic Gymnastics All-Around Individual Final. What an effort from the 24-year old.
16.12: Keatings has shrugged off the nerves to deliver a superb final routine. Upon landing he raised his fists in celebration, knowing that it will take a mammoth effort from Wilson. Although it is not over yet...
15.47: Keatings is still in second going into the final routine for each competitor. He is 1.999 behind Max Whitlock in first and unlikely to catch the Englishman. However, he’ll still need to perform to hold off Whitlock’s teammate Nile Wilson in third. Keatings holds a slim .333 advantage and is under pressure having let Wilson gain some ground in the parallel bars. Both gymnasts finish on the high bar.
15.39: There’s quite a story developing in the Artistic Gymnastics All Around Men’s Final. Scotland’s Dan Keatings was in second place going into the penultimate apparatus, giving himself a great chance of a medal.
15.15: Team Scotland’s lawn bowlers were a bit inconsistent with their results in morning play. Read Anne Dunwoodie’s report for details on the various group matches.
15.05: Usain Bolt has called the Commonwealth Games “awesome” just a day after allegedly saying they were a “bit s**t”. The fastest man of all time has denied the quotes attributed to him, saying it was a fabrication from the journalist. Regardless of whether he said it or not, Bolt would have heard a lot harsher terms from aggravated locals if he wasn’t so quick to deny and announce his positivity.
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Hide Ad15.00: The Scottish badminton champion Kieran Merrilees is into the last 16 of the Men’s Singles after defeating Kenyan Victor Odera Munga 2-0.
14.55: It’s another guaranteed medal in the boxing. Stephen Lavelle gave up considerable reach to the 6ft 6in Amritpreet Amritpreet Singh but out-boxed the Indian over the three rounds. The unanimous decision was greeted with deafening cheers from the crowd who had become audibly frustrated with the Indian challenger’s antics in the ring, including a couple of illegal punches to the back of the head. Lavelle now moves into the Heavyweight Semi-Finals.
14.29: The silver lining about losing a semi-final bout in the Wrestling is that the defeated contestants still get the chance to fight for a bronze medal. That’s the case with three Team Scotland members this afternoon. Read Richard Moore’s report for more details.
14.07: Entertain yourself by reading Stephen McGinty’s recount of a most enjoyable night taking in the sights, sounds and strangely smiling faces of the Hampden Park crowd.
14.03: Canada won the Women’s Synchronised 10m Platform Final in the first diving medal event. They scored a total of 310.65 across their five dives, coming from behind to defeat England with their final attempt. Malaysia won the bronze.
13.53: Joe Ham has lost his Bantamweight Quarter-Final bout against Qais Ashfaq. The Englishman was just too quick for his Scottish opponent, both his hands and his footwork. The first round was fairly even with one of the three judges even awarding it to Ham. From there, however, Ashfaq stepped it up a gear and controlled both the final two rounds to earn a unanimous decision.
13.27: Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour is in the last 16 of the Women’s Badminton Singles after beating Australian Verdet Kessler. It’s been a strong Games for Gilmour to this point, victorious in four of the five matches she has competed in both singles and team play. She’ll face Yeldy Louison (MRI) in tomorrow’s quarter-final.
13.13: Despite their loss to England today, the Scottish women’s hockey team is on the rise. Read Aidan Smith’s report on an unfortunate loss for the home nation.
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Hide Ad13.09: Two Scottish runners have made it into the semi-finals of the Women’s 800m. Emily Dudgeon posted a seasonal best to finish third in qualifying, despite only coming in third in her heat. Racing with strong competition she crossed the line behind England’s Jessica Judd and Melisa Bishop of Canada. Dudgeon’s teammate Lynsey Sharp came second in Heat 1, and her time of 2mins 3secs was more than enough for her to qualify. There would have been a third Scottish runner but Laura Muir decided to withdraw from the event in the wake of her frustrating finish at the Women’s 1500m Final last night.
13.03: England’s Richard Yates has sneaked into the final of the Men’s 400m Final. The 28-year old qualified just ahead of teammate Niall Flannery who was 0.17secs slower in his heat. South Africa’s Cornel Fredericks recorded the fastest time over the three races.
12.54: Scotland’s Angus McInroy has qualified for the final of the Men’s Discus. The local boy finished in 11th place in qualifying out of 12 hopefuls who made the next round. So he’ll need to step up his efforts to realise the ambition of winning a medal.
12.46: Scotland’s Jayne Nisbet is in the final of the Women’s High Jump. The Edinburgh girl cleared the mark of 1.85 that was good enough for 12 of the top 14 to qualify. Nisbet is quite an interesting case having been remarkably candid about an eating disorder which robbed her of the chance to compete in Dehli four years ago. With her career in tatters she regrouped and has since fought back against her illness. Last year she set a new Scottish record in the event.
12.35: Scotland’s James Heatly has made it to the final of the Men’s 1m Springboard in the first diving event at these Games. A resident of Edinburgh, Heatly went first in front of a hometown crowd at the Commonwealth Pool. He is the second member of his family to compete in the event after grandfather Peter won three gold medals in successive Games between 1950 and 1958. It’s unlikely James will follow in his footsteps on this occasion since he recorded only the 10th best total for the 12 man final. However, he only just turned 17 and this is great experience for the youngster.
12.15: The wrestling success did not last long. Both Viorel Ekto and Shannon Hawke lost their semi-final fights. Sarah Jones also exited at her quarter-final stage, losing to Dori Yeats from Canada via victory by fall.
12.04: All ten heats of the Men’s 200m have been run at Hampden and there was some strong words from England’s contender James Ellington in the immediate aftermath of his race. When talking to the BBC he called race victor, Jamaica’s Jason Livermore, a “clown” and insinuated that Livermore had been indulging in some unwanted verbal sparring before the sprint. Certainly something to look forward to when the semi-finals take place tonight.
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Hide AdAway from the drama, Ellington and Livermore both qualified for the semis as did England’s Danny Talbot and Christopher Clarke. Talbot ran an impressive 20.56secs, which was just 0.01secs off the fastest time in qualifying. That mark belonged to Michael Mathieu of the Bahamas.
11.38: Scotland have won in the wrestling! After suffering five defeats from five bouts yesterday, things are looking much more promising this morning. Viorel Ekto (Scottish resident originally from Moldova) defeated Mike Asselstine of Canada 10-2 in his first match and then bettered England’s George Ramm by technical superiority in his second. He’s now through to the semi-final. Also through to the semi-final in her event is Shannon Hawke. The 19-year old upset her more experienced teammate Jayne Clason with a victory by fall. No steel chairs were involved.
11.23: Disappointment for two Scottish athletes hopeful of making the Women’s Long Jump Final. Sarah Warnock managed a season best and Jade Nimmo also came very close but both missed out on the top 12 qualifying distances. England’s Lorraine Ugen, Shara Proctor and Jazmin Sawyers did make it. Bianca Stuart of the Bahamas recorded the longest jump.
11.17: Two very tight Scottish contests in the Lawn Bowls so far this morning. Darren Burnett just lost out to Namibia’s Willem Erasmus Esterhuizen 21-19 in their group match, although the Women’s Pair of Lorraine Malloy and Caroline Brown put smiles back on the crowd’s faces with a 14-13 win over Norfolk Island.
10.47: Well we’ve been so used to success so far at these Commonwealth Games that it really was about time “glorious failure” made a return to the Scottish sport psyche. Unfortunately it was the women’s hockey team that suffered that unwelcome yet depressingly familiar feeling. The Scots battered England in the second half of their decisive group game but could not force the ball over the line, with their opponents hanging onto a 2-1 win to reach the semi-final. Scotland are eliminated.
10.39: Welcome to the Scotsman’s coverage of day seven at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. It was another record breaking day yesterday as Team Scotland eclipsed the highest ever medal total achieved by Scotland at a single games. The previous record was 33, also set on Scottish soil in 1986, which was the total 2014’s team was sitting on going into yesterday’s action. It was beaten when Jen McIntosh won silver at the Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Final, subsequently making her the most decorated Scottish female competitor in Games history. The Men’s Gymnastics team then added the 35th before Mark Dry notched a late bronze competing in the Men’s Hammer Throw.
Are we done yet? Let’s hope not. Not a whole lot of Scots in medal contention today but there are three fighters, including Joe Ham, looking to guarantee themselves at least a bronze by winning their respective quarter-final bouts. There’s also Eilish McColgan and Lenny Waite going into the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Final and Lynsey Sharp in the heats of the Women’s 800m. Today is also the first day of diving competition and Scotland’s James Healy will be competing in the event at the Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh.
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