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Glasgow 2014

Live Coverage: Commonwealth Games - July 24 - as it happened

By , Reporter |
Sports Mole's live text coverage of the first full day of action at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
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Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the Commonwealth Games 2014 from Glasgow.

After last night's opening ceremony the action gets underway today, and there are plenty of medals already up for grabs in the likes of swimming and track cycling.

We will be sure to keep you abreast of the action and reaction with regular updates throughout the day.


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Good morning folks. So here we are, day one of competition in Glasgow. It certainly does not start slowly, however, as throughout the day we have no fewer than six sports with medal events. We will of course keep you on top or everything right here.

The opening ceremony last night has received plenty of positivity. There is some reaction coming through from the hosts of the event, Scotland. First up is their flag bearer Euan Burton, who competes in the judo event. Read what he had to say about the honour right here.



BREAKING: Mo Farah will not compete at the Commonwealth Games this year! He has not hit the level of fitness that he hoped for. It is a huge blow for England's medal chances, of course, and disappointing for the Games as a whole. Read our story on the Olympic champion here.

Team Scotland are doing very well in their badminton opener and are currently two games up against Seychelles in their best-of-five contest. We Will have the result as soon as it is confirmed. England are also 10 up against Canada in the lawn bowls in what looks a promising start for two of the home nations.



There have been some good early results in the pool for Team Scotland and Team England in the women's 400m individual medley. Scotland just about claim the bragging rights, with Hannah Miley winning her heat in a Commonwealth Record time, but the time of England's Aimee Willmott was not too far behind.

The final takes place this evening at 7.07pm and it should be very exciting indeed.


More on the victories in the pool, then, as David Cameron posts a photo of himself enjoying the success. Is he applauding Hannah Miley or Aimee Willmott here?



With the triathlon underway, Non Stanford - who is not competing through injury - believes that England's Jodie Stimpson is one of the favourites for gold and could well pick up a medal for England in the first event.

Back to the pool for a moment, one of our correspondents up in Glasgow has some thoughts from Aimee Willmott, who qualified for the 400m individual medley final with the second-fastest qualifying time.

Have a read of what she said after the heat right here.


That about wraps things up from me this morning. Thanks for joining me for the start of the action and please do enjoy the company of Joe Fish for the next four hours. Goodbye.

Thanks Matt. We've jumped in at the deep end, no pun intended, on the opening day of the Commonwealth Games. The pool is busy at the moment, and the Brownlee brothers and Bradley Wiggins go later in the triathlon and four-man pursuit.

The Sports Mole team are in place for this afternoon's action.



The triathletes are lining up in warm and clear conditions. Fingers crossed for a Brownlee 1-2!



England's Lucy Hall and Vicky Holland are making good strides in the women's triathlon. Meanwhile, former Tour de France and Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins is about to take to the track.

And it is a strong return to the track for Wiggins, as he, Ed Clancy and company break the four-minute barrier to qualify for the semi-finals of the 4,000m team pursuit. There's some strong teams in this event, though, so it will be interesting to see where Team England stand at the end of the heats.

Here is a full report on how Wiggins led England to this afternoon's gold medal match, where they will face world champions Australia, who were the only team to go faster than our boys.

RESULT: England's strongly fancied women's hockey team have made a winning start to their Games by recording a 2-0 win over home nations rival Wales. Read our full report here.

GOLD MEDAL! England's Jodie Stimpson has written her name into the record books by becoming the first gold medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games! The 25-year-old ran away from her rivals to win the women's triathlon, with teammate Vicky Holland claiming bronze.

Read how Stimpson and Holland got England on the board on the first day in Glasgow. It was a great burst on the running leg which saw Stimpson charge away from her rivals.

How does it feel to win the first gold of the Commonwealth Games. This is a taster from Stimpson, who told BBC Sport: "I have to thank so many people who got me through this year, and it is awesome to share the podium with Vicky, it is really special." More from her in a moment.

Jodie Stimpson transitioning between cycling and running on her way to Team England's first gold in the women's triathlon on July 24, 2014© Getty Images


Stimpson is understandably emotional as she savours a "really special" gold medal victory. She has got over the disappointment of missing out on London 2012 in the best possible way!

And let's not forget about Vicky Holland either, who is delighted that her hard work in preparation for these Games has been rewarded with a Commonwealth bronze. Holland has also congratulated Stimpson on her victory, which came in a time of 1.58.56 over in Strathclyde.

There is clearly a great bond among the triathletes, with both Stimpson and Holland urging the Brownlee brothers to join the medal celebrations in their race, which is scheduled for a 3.00pm start. Read what Holland said when Sports Mole's Matt Law caught up with her a moment ago. She's tipping Alistair Brownlee for gold. I've got a feeling for Jonny myself!

Jerusalem sounds out for the first time at these Games as Stimpson and Holland take to the podium to collect their medals. Glasgow is up and running now, and here is the medals table to prove it.

Someone who knows all about winning medals is Britain's most successful ever Olympian Chris Hoy. He was hoping to watch some of the track action on day one of the Games, but firstly had to be asked for ID when entering the 'Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome'! That's not how to treat a Scottish hero!

Another story involving one of Britain's biggest Olympic stars emerged earlier this week, with diving superstar Tom Daley nearly forced to make an emergency landing in a river on his way back to London from Shanghai. He and his teammates are now safely on his way to Glasgow.

START! The klaxon sounds and Alistair and Jonny Brownlee dive into the water to get their quest for triathlon glory underway. The South African leader passes a group of Swans (only called a bevy or a wedge while in flight, before you correct me), as he reaches the first buoy.

Just in case Jodie Stimpson and Vicky Holland thought they were still dreaming, here is confirmation of their gold and bronze medals in the women's triathlon a couple of hours ago, courtesy of our editor Neil Wilkes in Glasgow.



There are high hopes for England's boxers at these Games, and they are about to find out their fates, with the draws about to take place. Sports Mole are at the scene.



Jonny Brownlee, quickly followed by Alistair, leads the pack out of the water after the first lap. It is two laps of the 750m river course, before a 40km bike and 10km running on the roads.

It is looking good for the Brownlee boys. After South African Henri Shoeman progress was halted by a small crash, the leading group has fallen to three and have a huge 40 second lead on the pack. England's star siblings and Scotland's impressive youngster Marc Austin are cycling at the front right now, with Schoeman having led after the swim, where Kenyan athlete Vincent Onyango was lapped as he casually breaststroked his way through the water.

It was a mixed morning for England's cycling team as Olympic champion Jason Kenny and Matthew Crampton both advanced to the quarter-finals of the men's sprint, but only after racing in the repechage. Philip Hindes was knocked out. Here are Crampton's thoughts on his morning's work.

My last update before I hand you back over to Matt Domm is to inform you of an easy afternoon's work for England's top squash stars. Flag bearer Nick Matthew and James Willstrop have both cruised into the last 32 of the men's singles. Matt will guide you thorough the remainder of this promising triathlon...

Thanks Joe. I'm back, I'm sure you're all delighted to hear. So just in the last few minutes of the cycle part of the triathlon, the Brownlee brothers pulled away from the valiant Marc Austin to take a healthy lead into the fifth lap. They are now well clear and it looks all the world like a one-two for England already.

The Brownlees reach the end of the bike section of the triathlon at exactly the same time and are now running side by side in the running discipline. I'm sure it will get less friendly as the line approaches!

GOLD! Alistair Brownlee takes the title ahead of his brother Jonathan and it's a one-two for England - and a double for the team in the triathlon today. Great work!

After a brilliant start for England, with golds in the triathlon for both sexes, the men's team pursuit ended just short in the final as Australia took gold from Bradley Wiggins et al. England had to settle for silver.

Another silver for England on the track in the last race of the day, and this time it was New Zealand who took gold from them. The world champions managed a Games record time in doing so, so it has to go down as a fine effort from Team England.

GOLD! Scotland's first gold medal goes to Kimberley Renicks in the judo. If you want to know more, then read our report right here. You're welcome.

GOLD! That result is quickly followed by England's fourth on this very successful opening day for them. Ashley McKenzie is the man at 60kg and he gets the better of India's Navjot Chana in the final. Read our report of the action.

There are plenty more judo matches taking place throughout the evening, with English and Scottish interest in some, but the evening's swimming action is about to get started. First up is Aimee Willmott of England against Hannah Miley of Scotland in the 400m individual medley. Miley might just be the favourite, but this will be close I think.

GOLD! And as I suspected, the Commonwealth Games 2014 individual medley champion is Scotland's Hannah Miley, who in the end was two seconds ahead of Willmott. It was a brilliant contest, with Miley channelling the support from the crowd in the final 100m to finish strongly. Our result is here.

That's all from me here this evening, folks! To take you through to the end of the day's action is Callum Mulvihill. Over to you Callum.

Thanks Matt! I'll begin my stint with news of a world record from the pool as 16-year-old Rowan Crothers beats his own best time to clinch gold in the men's S9 100m freestyle. Special moment for the young Australian.

Apparently winning a gruelling race at the Commonwealth Games just isn't enough for Alistair Brownlie, who has decided that now is a good time to head out for an evening bike ride.


It's been a bit of a family day in Glasgow. The Brownlie brothers were dominant in the triathlon earlier in the day, before Louise and Kimberley Renicks both claimed judo gold for Scotland. Louise has revealed that the emotions were difficult to hide after joining her sister in triumphing in Glasgow.

Our correspondent in Glasgow Danielle Joynson has heard from Hannah Miley, who has revealed the sacrifices she has been forced to make to ensure she was successful in the 400m individual medley. She'll surely have one eye on Rio now after triumphing in front of her fellow Scots.

GOLD! More success for England as Colin Oates triumphs in the -66kg judo category. You can now read a full report of his victory over Andreas Krassas of Cyprus.


GOLD! A fantastic opening day for the English judokas continues as Nekoda Davis clinches gold in the -57kg category, with Scotland's Stephanie Inglis picking up silver to the delight of the home supporters.

What a brilliant swim from Ross Murdoch! All the talk has been about Michael Jamieson in the build up the 200m breaststroke final, but it's his fellow Scot who sets a new British record to claim gold.

You can now read a report of Murdoch's triumph. Jamieson looked a disappointed man after the race, but his 20-year-old rival displayed his class in the pool this evening. England's Andrew Willis finished in third to claim bronze.

It's a second world record of the night in the pool as the Australian team of Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell, Melanie Schlanger and Bronte Campbell produce a dominant display to win gold in the 4x100m freestyle final. It was never in doubt as England picked up silver and Canada claimed bronze.

Michael Jamieson has conceded that he wasn't good enough to beat Ross Murdoch tonight following that special performance from the 20-year-old earlier on. Murdoch certainly has bright future.

Wales have claimed their first medal of the Games after the women's rhythmic gymnastic team finished second behind the triumphant Canadian squad. You can read our full report of the final.


Stephanie Morton has labelled her Australian teammate Anna Meares the "queen of track cycling" after finishing second in the 500m time trial behind the 30-year-old, who claimed her fifth Commonwealth gold to become her nation's most successful competitor in the velodrome.

Ross Murdoch has admitted that it was a "mind-blowing" experience to win gold on Thursday, but he was keen to pay tribute to Scottish rival Michael Jamieson, who finished second in the 200m breaststroke final.

Men's head coach Bobby Crutchley believes that England's hockey players must continue to improve after beginning their Group B campaign with a 6-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago.

Melanie Schlanger was understandably delighted when talking to reporters after Australia broke the world record in the 4x100m freestyle relay earlier this evening in Glasgow. It was one of three gold medals won by Australia on Thursday.

Helen Scott, who won the first Para-sport gold medal of the Games in the tandem sprint with Sophie Thornhill, admits that the pair are not sure if they will be able to defend their title in four years.

Some pretty big news coming from Sir Bradley Wiggins tonight as the 2012 Tour de France winner, who claimed silver with his England teammates in today's team pursuit, has confirmed that he is likely to leave Team Sky and quit road cycling to concentrate on his track commitments.

That's all from the Sports Mole team for today. It's been a fantastic start to the Commonwealth Games, with plenty of memorable moments to take away from day one. We'll have more from 9am tomorrow, but for now I'll leave you with this tweet from a delighted Ross Murdoch after he edged out fellow Scot Michael Jamieson in the 200m breaststroke earlier this evening. Goodnight.


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Sophie Hitchon competing in the Women's hammer throw final during the Sainsbury's British Championships on June 29, 2014
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