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Commonwealth Games day seven on the Gold Coast

BRANDON Starc, sibling to Aussie cricketer Mitchell, has taken an outstanding gold medal in the men’s high jump final.

Tyson Otto, James Matthey and Alex Blair
13 min read
April 11, 2018 - 10:48PM
House Starc shines bright again.
House Starc shines bright again.

Live: Commonwealth Games day seven

Australia has completed a commendable day in track and field and still firmly leads the medal tally pack.

AUSTRALIA has wrapped up a huge day on the Gold Coast with a number of surprise victories in track and field events.

Javelin superstars Kathryn Mitchell sealed gold ahead of Kelsey-Lee Roberts (silver), breaking Australia’s record with a mammoth 68.92m on her first throw.

Brandon Starc also shone for the green and gold, taking first place in the men’s high jump with a PB of 2.32m late on day seven.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games mark the first time in history Australia will play a country besides New Zealand in the netball final after the Kiwis tumbled out of the Games with a crushing loss to England on Tuesday.

9.27pm

Starc clears for Commonwealth gold

Brandon Starc, the brother of Aussie fast bowler Mitchell Starc, has claimed his first athletics gold with a stunning personal best jump of 2.32m in the men’s high jump final.

The gangly 24-year-old trumped Bahrain’s Jamal Wilson, who bumped the bar in his final attempt, for the top spot on the podium with his first jump.

“It’s put my name out there now. 100 per cent,” Starc said.

“I’m not putting anything on Mitchell – what he has done is incredible. But it’s a good feeling.”

“My heel was hurting a little bit just here, but I pushed through. I knew I was in good form and I just had to back myself and believe in myself. That’s what I did and, look what happened.”

9.25pm

Aussie beach volleyballers through to gold medal

Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy won through to the final of the women’s beach volleyball final after defeating Vanuata in one of the matches of the event.

The Aussies are guaranteed either the gold or silver medal after they defeated Vanuatu pair Miller Pata and Linline Matauatu 21-19 16-21 15-9 in 51 minutes.

After the Aussies prevailed in a tight first set, Vanuatu shot out of the blocks in the second, racing to a 9-5 lead. They held that gap for the rest of the set, sending the match into a deciding set after taking the second 21-16.

The Aussies responded by racing to an 9-5 lead early in the third set and broke Vanuatu hearts by taking the third 15-9.

They’ll play Canada in the final, scheduled for 8.30pm on Thursday.

9pm

Medals rain for Australia

Enid Sung, Danielle Prince and Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva all snagged bronze for Australia in the rythmic gymnatics final on day seven. The three Aussies scored 120.80 to place third behind Malaysia (silver) and Cyprus (first).

Earlier on, James Connor took silver in the men’s 1m springboard behind England star Jack Laugher in first place.

8pm

Aussies go one-two

Kathryn Mitchell sealed gold alongside fellow Aussie Kelsey-Lee Roberts in second to cap a historic night of javelin for the host nation.

Mitchell threw an Australian record of 68.92m on her first attempt, but the biggest reaction of the night went to Roberts after she threw her way to silver.

The Aussie star ran around in elation with hands in the air and tears pouring from her eyes.

7:20pm

Mitchell kicks it off with huge throw

Aussie Kathryn Mitchell stunned with a massive 68.92m throw in the women’s javiling final on Wednesday night.

Her effort broke the Australian record.

Women’s long jumper Brook Stratton registered a solid 6.73m alongside fellow Aussies Lauren Wells (6.46m) Naa Anang (6.46) to qualify for tomorrow’s final.

4.45pm

Aussies through to beach volleyball gold medal game

Aussies Chris McHugh and Damien Schuman have won through to the final of the men’s beach volleyball.

The pair were brilliant against England’s Chris Gregory and Jake Sheaf, winning through to the gold medal game 21-13, 21-16 in 40 minutes.

The result guarantees Australia a gold or silver medal in Thursdays final against either New Zealand or Canada, scheduled to begin at 4.30pm.

3.30pm

‘Sick in the guts’: Aussie’s dramatic fall

Australia’s Emma Cox has won silver in the women’s double trap shooting after falling flat at the death in a dramatic rollercoaster finish.

Cox lead the competition heading into the final round and only needed to hit one of her final two targets to claim the gold medal.

She missed both – sending her into a sudden death shoot-off with India’s Shreyasi Singh after they both finished on 96 targets at the end of four rounds.

Singh went on to claim gold in the shoot-off.

After watching Cox miss her final two targets, Aussie Olympic legend Russell Mark told Channel 7, Cox would have been devastated at missing her opportunity.

“She’ll be sick in the stomach,” he said.

“That’s devastating for her.”

Cox said after the event she had a tough preparation for the Commonwealth Games which included a foot injury and a spell of pneumonia in recent weeks.

“All of those things together, I wasn’t really sure if I was going to be able to get a medal,” Cox told Seven.

3.15pm

Games star breaks down from brutal post-match question

Silver Ferns captain Katrina Grant hit back at suggestions the team lacked pride after falling to their worst ever loss against England at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday.

After a shock loss to Malawi earlier in their campaign, with New Zealand side were beaten by England, who’s 54-45 win was their first over the Kiwi side in a major medal tournament.

In a television interview after the match conducted by former Kiwi international Jenny-May Clarkson, Grant was reduced to tears at suggestions the struggling team lacked pride, but set the record straight on the matter.

“Of course we have pride in this black dress. It means a lot to every single one of us,” Grant said.

“We were little kids, you know younger girls growing up playing netball, and this is all we wanted. There’s a lot of pride in this dress and it’s a lot to take.”

Clarkson’s difficult question has been criticised on social media, with some fans commenting that the question was too severe straight after the game.

“A lot of people back home are saying that there doesn’t seem to be any pride in the black dress,” Clarkson said in the interview.

“I’m sure you girls have some long talks about what all this means and of course in terms of the results, they haven’t been quite what you wanted,” Clarkson asked.

The question has divided Kiwi commentators with some praising the bold approach and others declaring Clarkson went too far.

The loss meant the Ferns had to play a waiting game to see if they progressed from the pool stages of the Games. If Uganda beat Scotland by 38 goals or Malawi beat Wales by 79 goals, the Ferns would fall short of the semifinals.

Should the New Zealand side qualify for the semifinals, they’ll likely be matched up against gold-medal favourites Australia. The Diamonds meet Jamaica later tonight to finalise the standings in pool A - with both teams currently unbeaten with four wins.

— New Zealand Herald

2.30pm

‘My heart’s broken’

Emma Cox won gold in the women’s trap shooting earlier today but Aussie boxer Terry Nickolas was unable to make it to the podium in the men’s 69kg division after he was beaten on Tuesday night.

In an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday Nickolas said although his heart was broken, he was proud of what he’d achieved.

“Nothing hurts more right now, my hearts (sic) broken,” he wrote. “That’s my Commonwealth Games campaign at an end. I left it all in there last night but fell short. The journey has been amazing & I wouldn’t change anything for the world.

“To wear the Green & Gold has been a privilege & a dream for years. I made that dream a reality. I’ve had support from everyone & it’s made me into the fighter I am today.

“Not just from family & friends but from people all over Australia & the world and I can’t thank you all enough. I’m blessed to have won the hearts of many.

“Special thank you to my coaches & teammates for everything. Time for me to enjoy the rest of the Games. Thank you. I’ll rise stronger than ever from this. Much love.”

1.10pm

Agony and ecstasy amid Aussie disaster

Dan Repacholi claimed gold in the men’s 50m pistol event, scoring 227.2.

The man with arguably the best beard on the Gold Coast celebrated wildly in front of an enthusiastic crowd as he picked up Australia’s 51st gold medal of the Games.

In the pool the home pairing of Maddison Keeney and Annabelle Smith began strongly in their quest for gold in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard final before disaster struck.

Keeney completely lost her bearings as the two attempted a front two-and-a-half with a double twist and flew out much further forward than Smith, hitting the water on her back.

“An absolute disaster!” one Channel 7 commentator said. “Maddison Keeney has lost her awareness in the air and has landed on her back.

“They were both in trouble on the hurdle, Madison was way too far out and has lost control. Hopefully she is OK.

“We were talking about it before the round, anything can happen going into this last round and it has.

“Dear, oh dear.”

That agony contrasted with the ecstasy of fellow Australians Esther Qin and Georgia Sheehan, who surged into first place with an excellent final dive shortly after to claim gold.

Keeney and Smith finished seventh after the cruel mishap, leading Olympic gold medallist Matthew Mitcham to question why they tried such a difficult dive.

“That is very disappointing for these two. I mean, a front 2.5 with a double twist is the highest degree of difficulty in this competition and is extremely ambitious,” Mitcham told Channel 7.

“However, it does surprise me that that was a foul because looking at the replay she did manage to get the full two twists around but did not quite get her arms above her head.”

The Aussies are also locked in a tight battle with England in the women’s lawn bowls.

10.25am

Kiwi humiliation gets worse

The Poms outdid the Kiwis.
The Poms outdid the Kiwis.

New Zealand’s horror run in the netball has continued, losing a second straight match, this time to England.

The Poms defeated the Kiwis 54-45 to heap more misery on the Silver Ferns, who were already reeling from a shock 57-53 loss to Malawi in their opening game.

It’s the first time England has beaten New Zealand at a major medal tournament since the 1970s, and the result represents the Kiwis’ biggest ever losing margin against England, according to the NZ Herald.

It’s also the first time England has ever defeated New Zealand in netball at the Commonwealth Games.

“We got enough turnovers, our defensive end did a good enough job, losing the ball in the midcourt and the circle lost us the game,” Kiwi star Maria Folau said.

“At times it does get tough (holding too much of the shooting responsibility). Our team has faced scrutiny over the past few days ... we are extremely tight and we honour the black uniform.”

“Today we were way too patchy.”

New Zealand coach Janine Southby said aspects of her side’s performance simply weren’t up to scratch.

“Too many mistakes on attack, not enough courage to let the ball go to each other. Just not good enough,” she said.

“We lacked movement in the second quarter ... a lot of pressure on Maria (Folau) to put those shots in and others have got to stand up.

“We play well in patches and don’t string it together enough. I totally believe we have the skills to do it. We are as frustrated as everyone else.”

Should Uganda thrash Scotland tonight, New Zealand’s campaign will end, but that is unlikely. The more probably scenario is the Kiwis will still progress to the semi-finals, with Australia looming as their likely opponent.

8.50am

Channel 7 star humiliates Poms

There’s nothing Australia loves more than a bit of Pom bashing and Channel 7’s Sunrise team joined the fun on Wednesday morning.

Australia has 50 gold medals and 130 overall so far at the Commonwealth Games while England has 24 gold and 74 in total. Sunrise co-host David Koch took it upon himself to ram home just how much Australia has dominated the motherland on the Gold Coast.

Feigning sympathy for the English, Koch decided to see how they stacked up when combined with the other countries in Great Britain (given at the Olympics they compete as Great Britain rather than individual countries).

Unfortunately for the Brits, the Aussies still had them covered. Adding Scotland and Wales to England’s medal haul saw them fall short of the stars in green and gold with a total of 37 golds and 125 medals in total.

“I am feeling a bit sorry for the English, though. They have double our population and we are just flogging them in the medal count with 50 gold medals,” Koch said. “What I thought I would do is go back to the old Great Britain, bring in Scotland and Wales to boost their confidence.

“I have done a medal tally, our gold medal tally is 50 gold medals and as a combined, they only have 37.

“Their total medals is just 125, still just to make you feel better, you are still not as good. In total Great Britain has 65 million people.

“I just thought I would do that calculation.”

8.15am

Thorpe breaks silence on police bust drama

Thorpe and Rooney had an unexpected encounter with police.
Thorpe and Rooney had an unexpected encounter with police.

Ian Thorpe has broken his silence on a bizarre incident that saw him and fellow Aussie swim legend Giaan Rooney inadvertently caught up in a police bust involving a car that was either stolen or had stolen number plates.

The pair are commentating for Channel 7 at the Commonwealth Games and the network’s stars have been transported around the Gold Coast by hire car drivers.

It just happens that the hire car transporting Thorpe and Rooney on Saturday aroused the suspicion of Gold Coast police.

Speaking on Channel 7 on Tuesday night, Thorpe explained what went down.

“We got to a vehicle checkpoint — so well done police for picking up on it — they checked the numbers ... (and) checked the plates,” Thorpe said. “The plates were stolen on our car, which was a rental car as well.

“We’d gone through security, had our passes checked and everything was fine, got back to the car and the police said, ‘Well, you realise this car may be stolen or the plates are stolen.’

“We were like, ‘You’re joking, right?’

“The police said, ‘We don’t joke about things like this’ and I thought, ‘Well played police.’ I thought they were still joking at this stage but then it turns out it was real so we said, ‘We’ve got to go and work, can we just ditch that car?’

“We then left our driver and we walked off then we thought, ‘Oh, we better check and make sure he’s OK.’ It was an afterthought but we did do it.

“Turns out he’s fine, he wasn’t detained and the car’s back and we got a new car out of it.”

On Sunday a Queensland Police Services media statement said no charges had been laid over the incident.

7.30am

Swimmers finish on a high note

Australia’s golden girls got the job done in the 4x100m medley relay.
Australia’s golden girls got the job done in the 4x100m medley relay.

Spine-tingling wins in the final-night medley relays at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday crowned a spectacular showing in the pool for Australia that has raised hopes for future Olympic success.

Bronte Campbell, preferred to elder sister Cate for the freestyle anchor leg, overhauled Canada’s Taylor Ruck to seal a thrilling victory in the 4x100m medley in Games record time.

“It’s pretty unreal, it’s very rare that I get a swim in the medley relay at all,” Bronte said.

“We knew Canada was going to be really strong, but I’m just glad that the girls set me up and we did a good job in the end.”

Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers then reeled in England’s Ben Proud in a supercharged final lap to win the men’s medley relay by just nine hundredths in the final event of the six-day meet.

It left the host nation alone at the top with 21 golds on the able-bodied swimming medal tally, well ahead of England and South Africa, both on six golds.

Australia also won seven more golds in the para swimming events for a combined team tally of 73 medals.

Australia have not lost in the pool at a Commonwealth Games since going down to Canada at Edmonton in 1978.

Mitch Larkin was Australia’s most successful swimmer with five golds in five events, including a backstroke sweep, while Chalmers won four titles — three in relays, but had to settle for silver in the 100m free, the event he won at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Campbell sisters and rising teen star Ariarne Titmus finished with three golds and a silver.

The guys were just as impressive.
The guys were just as impressive.

“We’ve got such a great team,” said Larkin, looking ahead to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“We just swam through our skin, we held our nerve, showed up in those pressure situations.

“We’ve had some tough years.

“But it sets us up with some great confidence heading into next year and hopefully on to 2020.”

Australia’s head coach Jacco Verhaeren pointed to a greater number of personal and season-best times as justification for his move to bring the selection trials closer to the Games competition in line with other major nations.

“Our aim was to make Australia proud and show Australia what we’re made of and we succeeded in that,” said the Dutchman.

“We’re hitting about a 65 per cent rate in terms of personal best times, season best times, and that’s a very good score.

“That’s double the Rio Olympics.”

Verhaeren plans to put his swimmers through a training camp in tropical north Queensland ahead of the Pan Pacific competition in Tokyo this August — and use it as a preparation blueprint for the Tokyo Olympics.

The Commonwealth gold rush has given Australian swimming a boost after a 10-medal haul at Rio that featured just three golds with a new generation of swimmers, headed by Olympic champions Chalmers and Mack Horton at the forefront.

“It’s great to win this amount of medals,” Verhaeren said.

“But in doing that you need performances and medals — and from what I can see the people love it, so we love it too.”

— AFP

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/commonwealth-games/live-commonwealth-games-day-seven-on-the-gold-coast/news-story/d087f8f398fb76c2f5c590f29c537e82