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Commonwealth Games Day 8 live coverage: Zharnel Hughes disqualified in 200m

England’s Zharnel Hughes sensationally disqualified after officials rule he impeded runner-up Jereem Richards.

33 min read
10:33PMApril 12, 2018.
Updated 11:06PMApril 12, 2018
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Zharnel Hughes of England crosses the ahead of Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago in the men’s 200m. Photo: Getty Images
Zharnel Hughes of England crosses the ahead of Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago in the men’s 200m. Photo: Getty Images

Welcome to live coverage of Day 8 of the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

10.40pm: Wu-Hoo! Gold in the diving

Melissa Wu has added diving gold to Australia’s bursting treasure chest from these games.

Wu took out the women’s 10m platform.

Melissa Wu of Australia during the Womens 10m Platform. Picture: AAP
Melissa Wu of Australia during the Womens 10m Platform. Picture: AAP

Competing at her fourth Games, Wu, 25, amassed 360.40 points to pip Canada’s Rio bronze medallist Meaghan Benfeito (359.75) with her fifth and final dive while England’s Lois Toulson (344.20) took bronze.

Beijing Olympic silver medallist Wu missed the Games selection trials due to injury but relied on special consideration to be picked.

— AAP

10.37pm: Hockeyroos book semi berth

The Hockeyroos have held on to setup a final four showdown with New Zealand after beating India 1-0.

10.30pm: Matthews motors to bronze

Australian Luke Mathews has claimed the bronze medal in the men’s 800m at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Mathews looked way out of contention coming into the final straight, but stormed home on the inside to finish third in one minute 45.60 seconds behind Kenyan gold medallist Wycliffe Kinyamal and Kyle Langford from England. It was the first Commonwealth medal by an Australian in the event since 2002.

Mathews’ Australian teammate Joseph Deng, 19, finished seventh in 1:47.20.

— AAP

10.15pm: 200m winner disqualified

England’s Zharnel Hughes has been sensationally disqualified as the winner of the 200m as officials ruled he impeded the second-placed runner, Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards.

The arms of Hughes and Richards tangled as the two runners fought out the final few metres of the race. Hughes, who was racing on the edge of his lane, appeared to initiate the contact with Richards as he drew alongside the Englishman.

There were heartbreaking scenes as Hughes was informed by officials of his disqualification while on his victory lap and enjoying the moment with fans and friends.

9.48pm: Miller-Uibo wins 200m

Rio Olympics 400m gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo has added Commonwealth Games gold to her ever-growing trophy cabinet, this time in the 200m.

Miller-Uibo set a new Games record of 22.09 seconds to win from Shericka Jackson of Jamaica (22.18) and Dina Asher-Smith of England (22.29).

— AAP

9.38pm: GOLD! Stevens wins discus

Dani Stevens has won a second straight Commonwealth Games women’s discus title with a commanding display on the Gold Coast.

Stevens won with a new Games record of 68.26m, although any of her five legal throws would have been good enough to claim top spot on the podium. Indian pair Seema Punia and Navjeet Dhillon were second and third.

— AAP

9.25pm: GOLD! Marschall wins pole vault

Young Australian Kurtis Marschall has won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in the men’s pole vault with a clutch final-attempt clearance at 5.70m.

Marschall and Canadian Shawn Barber, the 2015 world champion, were the last two vaulters standing and for a time it seemed they would tie for the gold medal.

But Marschall ensured he would finish first on his own by successfully going over at 5.70m.

Barber took the silver with 5.65m and England’s Luke Cutts was third with 5.45m. Marschall, 20, has made stunning progress in the men’s pole vault in the past two years.

While still a teenager he narrowly missed a berth in the Rio Olympics final, before improving to seventh at last year’s world championships in London.

Marschall started tonight’s final slowly, missing his first attempt at his opening height of 5.45m. But he showed nerves of steel to get over at the third time of asking at 5.70m, becoming the the sixth Australian man to win the Commonwealth title.

Once the title was safe in his keeping, Marschall made three unsuccessful attempts at what would have been a new Games record of 5.81m.

— AAP

9.20pm: Canada beats Aussies in thriller

Canada has beaten Australia in a tense women’s beach volleyball final at the Commonwealth Games, turning the tables after Australia’s men claimed gold earlier today.

Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar just couldn’t handle the class of world No.1 duo Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Peredis to go down 21-19 22-20 at Coolangatta.

Australia’s women’s silver medal comes after the Australian men’s team of Chris McHugh and Damien Schumann prevailed against their Canadian opponents to claim gold.

McHugh and Damien Schumann beat Samuel Pedlow and Sam Schachter in a three-set thriller, 21-19 18-21 18-16.

Watched on by Sydney Olympic beach volleyball gold medallist Natalie Cook as well as swimming legend Dawn Fraser, Clancy and Artacho del Solar pushed the favourites all the way in two high-quality sets in front of a packed crowd. Canada led for most of the first set but never by much and the Australians hung around, briefly hitting the front at various points.

But Canada would always drag themseles back, often through the deft touch at the net of 198cm beanpole Pavan.

Eventually she blocked an Australian spike ball to give her side the first set. The second set went much the same way for Clancy and Artacho del Solar in the rainy Gold Coast conditions, but the Canadians just always stayed a step ahead and emerged narrow victors.

Earlier, Vanuatu took out the women’s bronze medal with a 21-14 21-10 win against Cyprus.

New Zealand’s brothers Ben and Sam O’Dea earlier won the men’s bronze medal with a 21-13 21-15 win against Chris Gregory and Jake Sheaf from England.

— AAP

9.15pm: Stratton wins silver in long jump

Australia’s Brooke Stratton has won the silver medal in the women’s long jump at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Stratton produced her biggest jump of 7.77m in the final round, but it wasn’t quite enough to overtake gold medallist Christabel Nettey from Canada (6.84m). The bronze went to England’s Shara Proctor with 6.75m.

— AAP

8.55pm: Canada takes first set

Australia’s women’s beach volleyball team of Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy have a fight on their hand for the gold medal after losing the first set 21-19 against Canada.

8.25pm: Connor adds bronze to silver

Australia’s James Connor has claimed 3m springboard bronze at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Rio Olympic silver medallist Jack Laugher of England took gold with 519.40 points ahead of Canada’s Philippe Gagne (452.70) and Connor (438.50) while Australian rookie Matthew Carter placed sixth in the six dive final.

Connor backed up from claiming 1m springboard silver — an event also won by Laugher — on Wednesday’s opening night of the diving at the Games.

8.15pm: Silver medallist ... at 15

Australian teenager Rhiannon Clarke has won the silver medal in the women’s T38 100m at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Rhiannon, 15, clocked 12.17 seconds in finishing second behind England’s Sophie Hahn (12.46).

The bronze medal went to Olivia Breen from Wales, who won gold in the T38 long jump four days ago.

— AAP

7.45pm: Jackaroos bag another gold

The Jackaroos’ dream run at the Commonwealth Games lawn bowls has continued after Australia defeated Scotland in the women’s triples gold medal match.

Rebecca van Asch, Natasha Scott and Carla Krizanic won 21-12 tonight, having already claimed gold as part of the women’s fours on Monday.

The trio built a 9-1 lead after just five ends before Scotland rallied in another fluctuating contest full of big moments at Broadbeach Bowls Club.

— AAP

7.20pm: Mitch who?

6.45pm: Pilley, Urquhart beat fellow Aussies

Yamba cousins Cameron Pilley and Donna Urquhart are through to the Commonwealth Games squash semi-finals in the mixed doubles after winning their all-Aussie encounter.

Pilley and Urquhart beat compatriots Rachael Grinham and Ryan Cuskelly in 31 minutes today to move into the final four and remain on track for a gold medal match.

Cuskelly is still a chance of medalling in the men’s doubles, teaming up with Pilley in their final-eight clash later tonight, while David Palmer and Zac Alexander are also a chance.

— AAP

Brent Read 5.42pm: Australian pair win epic final

Damien Schumann and Chris McHugh have kicked off what could be a massive night for Australia in the beach volleyball by winning the Commonwealth Games gold medal in a marathon men’s match against Canada pair Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter.

McHugh and Schumann won the opening set 21-19 become the Canadian pair hit back to level the match, winning the second set 21-18. The Australians then prevailed 18-16 in the third set as the match finally came to a close after an energy-sapping 61 minutes.

Australia’s women will take to the court later tonight as they attempt to win gold. Mariafe Artacho de Solar and Taliqua Clancy face Canada’s female team

5.17pm: Canada take it to a third

Business has just picked up, with Canada taking the second 21-18 to set up an epic third and final set.

Fortune was on the side of the locals early in the second set after a successful challenge of a blocked shot handed them a crucial point. But frustration crept in with the Australian pair questioning a number of calls as Pedlow and Schachter built momentum. The locals staved off one set point but couldn’t hold the Canadians out, the gold medal now on the line in the third.

4.54pm: Australia takes first set

This is tense! Canada haven’t dropped a set all tournament but the Aussies have hit the early lead with a hard-fought 21-19 opener. And don’t the crowd love it?!

4.33pm: Men’s final underway

We’re underway in the gold medal match at Coolangatta, and neither side are giving the other an inch. There’s been desperation from both sides saving some tense points early as the Aussies hit the front 6-5 mid-way through the first set.

4.13pm: Kiwis take bronze

Ben O'Dea celebrates. Picture: Getty Images.
Ben O'Dea celebrates. Picture: Getty Images.

The New Zealand men’s team have taken bronze in the beach volleyball after defeating England 21-13, 21-15.

The Kiwi pairing of Ben and Sam O’Dea took 40 minutes to beat Jake Sheaf and Chris Gregory as the crowds continue to build for the gold medal match.

3.35pm: Aussie girls’ chance to topple world No.1

Taliqua Clancy. Picture: AFP.
Taliqua Clancy. Picture: AFP.

Australian beach volleyballers Mariafe Artacho Del Solar and Taliqua Clancy say the time is right for the biggest test of their fledgling partnership. They will play world No.1 Canada for the first time on Thursday in a battle for Commonwealth gold.

But the duo, who only combined in October, believe they have already struck up such a bond they can bring down the powerhouse team.

Clancy and Artacho Del Solar will be joined by compatriots Chris McHugh and Damien Schumann as the hosts eye a clean sweep of gold at Coolangatta. Their semi-final victories were contrasting, with the women surviving a massive scare from Vanuatu and the men cruising past England in an Ashes boilover. Having lived to fight another day, Clancy is eyeing an opportunity to show how good they really are against Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes, who crushed Cyprus in their semi-final.

“We haven’t been playing together long, it’s exciting where we can take the game,” the Kingaroy Olympian said.

“We want to get to where (Canada) are.

“We believe we can be one of the strongest (pairs) in the world.”

Damien Schumann and Chris McHugh. Picture: Getty Images.
Damien Schumann and Chris McHugh. Picture: Getty Images.

McHugh and Schumann will meet Canadians Samuel Pedlow and Sam Schachter, who prevailed in a tight semi-final against New Zealand brothers Ben and Sam O’Dea. “They have a unique offence so we have to be dynamic on defence to take them out of their rhythm,” Schachter said of the Australians.

“We’re up for the challenge; we’re not new at being in a final but we’re new to this type of tournament and we’re excited.”

3.10pm: McConnells’ dreams go up in dust

Daniel McConnell. Picture: AAP.
Daniel McConnell. Picture: AAP.

Australia’s mountain biking McConnells have had their Commonwealth Games dreams go up in the Nerang dust in back-to-back disappointments.

Both Rebecca and Daniel McConnell, who were married last December, entered their respective cross country races as realistic chances for gold after claiming bronze medals in Glasgow.

But they endured horror runs on the unforgiving Gold Coast circuit, Rebecca sixth and Daniel seventh as England and New Zealand dominated. Annie Last broke away from the pack to win the women’s race in one hour 18 minutes and two seconds to beat compatriot Evie Richards by 48 seconds. The lone Australian in the field finished more than four minutes behind the winner.

Her husband was more than two minutes behind Kiwi Sam Gaze, who somehow chased compatriot Anton Cooper down on the last lap despite having to stop to fix a problem with his bike.

Ranked second-highest in the field, Rebecca McConnell rated herself a good shot of eclipsing the bronze she won four years ago.

Rebecca McConnell. Picture: AAP.
Rebecca McConnell. Picture: AAP.

Instead the 27km Gold Coast course, broken up into six 4.5km loops, chewed her up and spat her out on a day she will try to quickly forget.

“It was pretty s... to be honest, I just had terrible legs,” she told AAP. “They weren’t my legs ... there’s so much build up to get yourself ready, physically and emotionally, so to see it riding away from you is hard.”

The dual Olympian managed to force a smile when embraced by Last after the race, telling her “everyone just rode away from me”.

“It really sucks,” McConnell said of what it was like to be caught in the leader’s dust.

“But it’s the best feeling when you can do it to someone else.”

Ranked a race-high five in the world, Last sat behind Richards for two 4.5km laps before shooting clear and extending her lead at every lap.

Canada’s Haley Smith was a surprise bronze medallist in front of countrywoman Emily Batty, who was one of the pre-race gold medal favourites.

AAP

Adrian McMurray 2.50pm: Aussie women strong in heptathlon

Alysha Burnett of Australia during the Women's Heptathlon High Jump. Picture: AAP.
Alysha Burnett of Australia during the Women's Heptathlon High Jump. Picture: AAP.

A strong performance in the high jump has seen Australian Alysha Burnett leap to fourth after two events in the heptathlon.

Burnett and England’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson both failed to clear 1.90m but took 1067 points each with their efforts at 1.87m, Johnson-Thompson taking the overall lead.

On top after the 100m hurdles, fellow Australian Celeste Mucci dropped to third after failing to better 1.75m, now 99 points behind Johnson-Thompson.

The heptathlon continues at 7.20pm AEST tonight with the shot put.

2.38pm: Aussies win second para bowls gold

Australia’s oldest Commonwealth Games athlete, lawn bowler Ken Hanson, has lived up to his Bandit nickname, dramatically stealing a gold medal in the triples opens with a disability.

Down by one deep in the 15th end of the B6/B7/B8 event on Thursday, Hanson produced the ball of his life with the final delivery of the final to pinch a 14-13 win over New Zealand.

Having comeback from 10-3 down to take the lead at the final change, the Kiwis were on track to claim the title before Hanson’s heroics.

The 68-year-old then blasted two New Zealand balls away from the jack and sealed the win with the perfect draw shot to send the Broadbeach Lawn Bowls club into raptures.

Ken Hanson. Picture: AAP.
Ken Hanson. Picture: AAP.

“There wasn’t no draw shot or anything like that. It was just to let it go as hard as I could and hope I hit the right ball, which it did,” Hanson said of his first ball.

“It went onto the other one, that was a bonus, which left us with (one more).” Hanson, who is easily the most senior member of Australia’s Games team, said he had never dreamed of wearing gold on the podium.

“If you had of told me 18 months ago that I’d be standing here about to get a gold medal, I would’ve said you’re kidding yourself,” he said. “I never would’ve even entertained the idea of playing in the Commonwealth Games of the disability but we’ve been through a lot together us guys and we’re not a bad combination.” Lead bowler Josh Thornton had every confidence in Hanson finishing the match, describing his final two bowls as the stuff of lawn bowls legend. “I may not have played the last end like I wanted to,” he said. “But when you get to know your teammates as well as we have known each other, I had every faith that Kenny was going to play a couple of rippers which he did. “That first one of his, taking both balls out clean to give us two, it’s something of legends.”

AAP

Wayne Smith 2.00pm: Wu primed for medal tilt

Australia’s most experienced diver Melissa Wu showed all of her experience as she came through the preliminaries of the tower event in third position this morning, pulling herself together after a mild mishap to be at the business end of the event in tonight’s final.

While the men’s 3m springboard event actually achieved the purpose of eliminating five of the 17 entrants – sadly one of them was Australian Kurtis Mathews – the women’s tower field was made up by 12 divers, precisely the number needed for the final. So while there was a cutthroat element to the men’s event, the only practical purpose of the women’s competition this morning was to sort out the diving order. Still, within that, it provided an opportunity to go through some systems checks and work out any kinks.

In that light, Wu might have benefited from her fourth dive, an inward three and a half somersault, which scored her only 44.80 and dropped her from second to fourth. She came up short, sent a splash in the general vicinity of the judges and made a mental reminder to herself to pay more attention to the dive in this evening’s final.

Pandelela Rinong Pamg, the Malaysian diver who took gold in Delhi, silver in Glasgow, showed that she again will be the diver to beat although that one fluffed dive was probably all the difference between Wu’s 327.20 and Pamg’s 339.00. And the growing Malaysian dominance of Commonwealth women’s diving was emphasised by Jun Hoong Cheong qualifying second.

Australia’s two other divers Brittany O’Brien who debuted as a 10m diver for Australia when she replaced an injured Brittany Broben before the Rio Olympics and found herself in an Olympic final, qualified seventh in 304.75. Ironically, the diver who herself is making his international debut in these Games after Taneka Kovchenko was forced into retirement on the virtual eve of competition by a medical condition, 19-year-old Teju Williamson, dived well to go through in eighth spot.

Melissa Wu. Picture: Getty Images.
Melissa Wu. Picture: Getty Images.

Meanwhile, it was comforting for his rivals in the men’s event to know that even Jack Laugher, the English gold medallist in the 1m springboard and the Rio Olympic and dual Glasgow Commonwealth Games champion, makes mistakes.

He had led the 1m springboard competition from the opening preliminary dive all the way through the event to the medal ceremony and he was doing the same in the preliminaries of the 3m springboard this morning when something went wrong. He overcooked his forward four and a half somersault dive and instead of scoring the 70s and 80s which for him have become customary, he had to blink twice as the judges awarded him just 19.00. He plunged to fifth overall.

It was a reassuringly human touch from a man who has been diving with such grace and precision and leaves his opponents with at least some hope tonight.

Phillip Gagne, a 20-year-old Canadian inspired – as all Canadians are – by the diving of the legendary Alexandre Despartie – led the field into the final with a blemish-free 448.40, with 17-year-old Matthew Carter upstaging his more experienced teammates by scoring 436.25 for second, while James Connor, the 22-year-old Victorian now studying at the University of Indiana was eighth in 385.55.

1.31pm: Ruby-less Ferns want diamond Games run

Black Ferns captain Sarah Goss. Picture: Getty Images.
Black Ferns captain Sarah Goss. Picture: Getty Images.

Gathering together, the Black Ferns Sevens sent the mumps-hit Ruby Tui home from their pre-Commonwealth Games camp on the Sunshine Coast with a rousing rendition of the “Ko Uhia Mai” haka.

And with that jolt of catharsis, they’ve well and truly moved on. Tui’s illness-enforced absence is a body blow for the Ferns’ chances on the Gold Coast, in what is the Games’ women’s rugby sevens bow.

But skipper Sarah Goss insists the side won’t carry any emotional baggage from Tui’s suffering, or their subsequent stint in isolation.

There’d be no excuse for poor performances.

“To have to send her home, it was pretty heartbreaking, and doing a haka for her was what we do and very special,” Goss said.

“It makes you realise that you’re not here forever and one thing can take you out, and it’s made us not take anything for granted.

“When she told us (she was going home), she was all about us just coming here and leaving mana, she never once talked about herself.” The Ferns will play Canada, South Africa and Kenya in their pool, with a gold- medal match against hosts Australia all but certain.

Portia Woodman. Picture: AFP.
Portia Woodman. Picture: AFP.

The trans-Tasman foes faced off in the 2016 Rio Olympics decider, won 24-17 by the Aussies, while the Ferns are reigning Sevens World Cup champions. But Australia head to the Gold Coast in better recent form, having won both 2017-18 World Women’s Sevens Series events in Dubai and Sydney. With Tui back on Kiwi soil, the likes of Goss, Portia Woodman, Tyla Nathan-Wong and Kelly Brazier will be expected to lead the Games charge. The 25-year-old Goss said she welcomed the pressure to perform. “It’s massive, for us it’s just under the Olympics,” Goss said. “The top three countries in the world series are here playing, Canada, Australia and England, it’s going to be an extremely tough tournament. “We’re preparing like we want to win gold and I think we’ve done enough to do so, we’re going to be trying our best.” Rising star Risi Pouri-Lane has taken Tui’s spot in the squad, serving as travelling reserve, with the origin of the latter’s illness still unclear. Women’s sevens pool play will begin on Friday evening. The New Zealanders play Kenya and then South Africa, followed by Canada on Saturday.

Daniel Sankey 12.40pm: ‘No more than a warm-up for her’

Caster Semenya’s bid for the 800m/1500m double is well and truly on track after a brilliant 800m heat win today.

The South African was the only runner to break the two-minute barrier, cruising home to win the first of three heats in 1:59.26 from England’s Alexandra Bell, who needed a personal best (2:00.11) to finish within a second of Semenya.

Caster Semenya wins her heat. Photo: Getty Images
Caster Semenya wins her heat. Photo: Getty Images

Australia’s three hopes — Keely Small, Brittany McGowan and Georgia Griffith — failed to advance. Griffith came closest, her third place in heat three in a new personal best of 2:00.73 missing out on a non-automatic qualifying position by just two-tenths of a second.

Small also ran a new PB (2:00.81) in finishing sixth in Semenya’s heat, while McGowan (2:01.17) was fourth in heat two. Qualification for the final was restricted to just the first two runners in each heat plus the runners with the next two fastest times — both of which came from the first heat.

Not surprisingly, that first heat was Semenya’s. She was content to bide her time on the outside in fifth or sixth position for much of the first 600m before upping the tempo in the final 200m and easing past her rivals.

“She’s jogging. She’s literally loping along. This is no more than a warm-up for her,” IAAF president and former 800m and 1500m champion Seb Coe said in commentary for Channel 7.

12.30pm: NZ great into final

Valerie Adams’s hopes of a fourth Commonwealth Games gold medal are on track after she qualified comfortably at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast.

Contesting her fifth Games, but just six months after the birth of daughter Kimoana, Adams needed just one effort to better the automatic 16.50m standard.

The double Olympic champion’s 18.52m was a season’s best, in just her third competition of the year.

Through to the final ... Valerie Adams. Photo: Getty Images
Through to the final ... Valerie Adams. Photo: Getty Images

— AAP

12pm: When first becomes Last

Last is first for England with cross country mountain bike powerhouse Annie Last streaking to Commonwealth gold.

Countrywoman Evie Richards took silver as Australia’s Rebecca McConnell, ranked second-highest in the 12-woman field, struggled to sixth in today’s final on the Gold Coast.

Ranked a race-high five in the world, Last sat behind Richards for two 4.5km laps before shooting clear to finish the 27km course in one hour 18 minutes and two seconds, 48 seconds ahead of Richards.

— AAP

11.58am: Aussies into 3m springboard final

Australia’s Matthew Carter and James Connor have qualified for the men’s 3m springboard final at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Canada’s Philippe Gagne topped the preliminary round with 448.40 points ahead of Games rookie Carter (436.25pts) while 1m springboard silver medallist Connor backed up to be eighth (389.55pts) and comfortably move into tonight’s 12-strong final.

Australian rookie Kurtis Mathews missed the final.

Matthew Carter during the preliminary round of the men’s 3m springboard. Photo: Getty Images
Matthew Carter during the preliminary round of the men’s 3m springboard. Photo: Getty Images

— AAP

Daniel Sankey 11.34am: Jenneke back to her best

Australia’s Michelle Jenneke produced her best 100m hurdles performance this year, qualifying for tomorrow night’s final with a sparkling 12.99 heat.

Jenneke was only fourth in the second heat, but her time was good enough to make her the fastest non-automatic qualifier.

She joins fellow Australian Brianna Beahan in tonight’s final. Earlier, Beahan equalled her personal with a 13.02-second run to place second in the first heat behind Nigeria’s Oluwatobiloba Amusan (12.73).

Thumbs up ... Michelle Jenneke. Photo: Getty Images
Thumbs up ... Michelle Jenneke. Photo: Getty Images

Just five runners — Almusan, the Jamaican pair of Danielle Williams (12.69) and Yanique Thompson (12.95), England’s Tiffany Porter (12.99) and Jenneke — broke the 13-second mark in the heats.

Jenneke said she was confident of breaking her personal best of 12.82 seconds in the final, to be held at 10.09pm tomorrow night.

“I knew I was going to have to run fast today, I knew that I had the fast heat. Definitely had more to give in that last little bit, sort of just controlled the race, you know, you’ve got to be able to get through this heat unscathed, you don’t want to be tripping over hurdles,” she told Channel 7.

“I was pretty happy with that run but there’s definitely more for the final.

“I think that’s probably the fastest I’ve run in a major championships as well. I feel like I’m in the shape of my life, so I’m going to be pushing for a PB for tomorrow.”

A personal best certainly would put Jenneke right in contention for a medal, with the event now wide open following the withdrawal of Australia’s reigning world champion, Sally Pearson.

11.15am: Opals focus on bigger picture

Australian Opals coach Sandy Brondello says the bigger picture is helping her team stay focused on their quest for Commonwealth Games gold.

he Opals, who will play New Zealand in tomorrow night’s semi-final, won their preliminary matches by an average margin of 54 points, and will be expected to do much the same against the Kiwis.

“It’s not just the Commonwealth Games, yes we want to win the gold medal here, but we also have the world Cup in September, and we have limited time together,” Brondello said.

— AAP

Daniel Sankey 10.59am: Mountain claims early victims

Two mountain bike riders have already had their medal hopes dashed after heavy crashes on the Commonwealth Games cross country course.

Cyprus’ national champion Antri Christoforou is more than three minutes off the pace being set by the English pair of Evie Richards and Annie Last after falling the first time up the mountain.

It was even worse for Lesotho’s Likeleli Masitise, who fell face-first onto rocks during a particularly tricky section of the course. Masitise is now more than six minutes behind the leaders in 12th place.

After two laps, Australia’s two-time Olympian Rebecca McConnell is struggling to keep pace with the medal contenders. She’s in seventh, almost a minute-and-a-half behind the leading English pair and will need a strong second half of the race to get back in contention.

Daniel Sankey 10.37am: Mountain bike underway

We’re underway in one of the most gruelling events on the Commonwealth Games program, the cross country mountain bike.

About five minutes into the race at the Nerang Mountain Bike Trails, Australia’s Rebecca McConnell is in sixth, with the England pair of Annie Last and Evie Richards already out to a lead of around 15 seconds on the nearest chasing riders.

The men’s race, featuring Rebecca’s husband and coach Daniel, begins at 1.31pm.

Daniel Sankey 10.20am: Brilliant start for Mucci

Australian 18-year-old Celeste Mucci has made a brilliant start to her Commonwealth Games heptathlon campaign, running a personal best of 13.19 seconds in winning her 100m hurdles heat.

A massive 0.27 seconds inside her previous personal best, Mucci’s heat two effort was the best of all competitors and puts her in the gold medal position with 1096 points early in the competition.

Mucci’s Australian teammate Alysha Burnett ran a season’s best of 14.32 seconds to be third in heat one behind Ghana’s Elizabeth Dadzie (13.49 seconds) and India’s Purnima Hembram (13.56 seconds).

10am: Irish want review of captain’s fine

Northern Ireland’s Commonwealth Games team has asked police to review their decision to fine their boxing captain for fighting outside a Gold Coast nightclub.

Sean McComb, 25, was fined $756 and banned from the nightclub districts at Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach after the incident outside Sin City nightclub about 2.30am (AEST) on Tuesday.

Police allege McComb had been ejected before trying to re-enter the club and getting into a fight with security staff.

Today, the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council (NICGC) said their reputation and that of McComb had been impugned and they were considering legal action.

Northern Ireland boxer Sean McComb (left) in action against Luke McCormick of England earlier this week. Photo: Getty Images
Northern Ireland boxer Sean McComb (left) in action against Luke McCormick of England earlier this week. Photo: Getty Images

“The NICGC has reviewed the latest evidence and determined that team sanctions will not be taken against Sean in relation to this incident and we can confirm that he remains an integral member of the boxing squad and the wider team,” the NICGC said in a statement.

“In our opinion he is an innocent victim in this matter and he retains the full support of the NICGC.”

The council said they had issues with the accuracy of initial information about the incident and how it had been presented to the media.

McComb tweeted: “Here’s the truth! INNOCENT” this morning, with a link to a BBC Sport article quoting the NICGC statement.

The NICGC said it had asked Queensland police to fast track a review of their decisions against McComb.

“We are disappointed that the reputation of the athlete and the NICGC is being impugned and we want to ensure that every opportunity is available to resolve this matter,” they said.

“To this end, legal advice is being sought and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is being kept informed.”

— AAP

Nicole Jeffery 9.26am: Welcome to Wonderful Wednesday

It wasn’t quite the legendary Magic Monday of the Sydney Olympics, but it was certainly a wonderful Wednesday for the Australian athletics team at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games last night.

The Australian team won four gold medals, three silvers and a bronze in a matter of hours at Carrara Stadium as javelin thrower Kathryn Mitchell, high jumper Brandon Starc, world champion para 100m sprinter Isis Holt and F38 shot putter Cameron Crombie all triumphed.

And long jumper Henry Frayne’s silver medal was almost as good as gold. He led the competition to the halfway mark before he was overtaken by South African world champion Luvo Manyonga.

Between them, they proved there was life for Australian track and field beyond the potentially demoralising loss of talismanic captain and local hero Sally Pearson to injury before the competition began.

Mitchell sparked the golden run when she poured 13 years of torment at major championships into her first throw of the competition.

She launched the spear a jaw-dropping 68.92m, the biggest throw in the world for almost five years and the biggest ever in Australia, effectively finishing the contest in that moment.

At 35, Mitchell is in the twilight of her career and she has finished in the top six at major championships five times but she had never won a medal until last night.

She arrived at her fourth Commonwealth Game in the form of her life and banished all that heartache in one moment of brilliance.

No-one could touch her last night. As she stood on the runway preparing to take her sixth and final throw, with the gold medal already secure, she struggled to hold her composure, her eyes welling with tears of joy that she had finally produced her best when it counted most.

“I was pretty f … ing awesome, let’s be honest,’’ she exclaimed afterwards.

Her teammate Kelsey-Lee Roberts was certainly inspired. On her last throw, she sent the spear 63.89m to claim the silver medal and complete the quinella.

Starc, 24, has long been one of the better-known members of the athletics team, by virtue of being the younger brother of Test cricketer Mitchell, and sharing his name with the hero of the world’s most popular television series Game of Thrones.

But he made his own name last night, clearing a personal best of 2.32m to become the Commonwealth champion.

“It’s a big shadow to come out of, maybe a little bit more than I was, but this is just unreal,’’ he said.

“I knew I was in good form, I just had to back myself and believe in myself and that’s what I did and look what happened.’’

Frayne, whose career has been crippled by injury in recent years, also had the competition of his life, producing a personal best of 8.34m in the qualifying round and almost reproducing that in the final (8.33m). It took the biggest jump in Commonwealth history, 8.41m, to beat him last night.

Daniel Sankey 9am: Inspiration from an old friend for Jenneke

If Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke needed any inspiration to produce a personal best in her 100m hurdles campaign, which begins tonight, she need look no further than her clubmate and training partner Nicholas Hough.

Jenneke and Hough have trod a similar path in their rise up the world hurdles rankings, the pair in national teams since the Youth Olympics back in 2010.

There’s little doubt Jenneke was cheering as loud as anybody in the stands on Tuesday when Hough made history in the men’s 110m hurdles, becoming the first Australian to win a Commonwealth Games bronze medal in the event since Don Wright all the way back in 1986.

Coming in as the 12th-ranked hurdler on times, Hough produced a massive personal best of 13.38 seconds to take bronze behind the Jamaican pair of Ronald Levy (13.19 seconds) and Hansle Parchment (13.19 seconds).

Nicholas Hough is all smiles with his 110m hurdles bronze medal. Photo: AAP
Nicholas Hough is all smiles with his 110m hurdles bronze medal. Photo: AAP

Today, it’s Jenneke’s turn in the women’s 100m hurdles ... and like Hough, Jenneke is going to have to produce a career-best if she’s to win a medal.

Bookmakers have made Jenneke a $34 outsider to win gold in the Sally Pearson-less 100m hurdles, behind the raging hot favourite Danielle Williams of Jamaica ($1.50 in betting). The England pair of Tiffany Porter ($3) and Alicia Barrett ($13) and Jenneke’s Australian teammate Brianna Beahan ($13) are considered the best chances to upset the favourite.

“I’m feeling confident … it’s looking really promising,” Jenneke said recently.
“My coach is really happy. The goal is to run fastest at the Comm Games, but obviously I’ve got to run fast first at nationals to get there. But all signs are looking good.

“I’ve never competed for Australia on home soil. When you go to other countries and see the host nation cheer their athletes out on the track and how much they really get behind them, it’d be absolutely amazing to be an Australian and have the whole crowd cheering for you. Australians love their sport.”

8.25am: Former athlete charged

A former Commonwealth Games athlete has been charged after allegedly throwing a glass in an 18-year-old’s face and punching a woman during a fight on a Gold Coast dance floor.

The Victorian man, reportedly a bronze medallist at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, is accused of getting into an argument with the man and the two teenagers on the dance floor at about 3am today.

Police allege the man, who is understood to be a foreign national, punched the 18-year-old woman in the face and threw a glass at the man, striking him in the face and causing a significant laceration.

The man was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries to his face while the woman did not sustain any injuries. The 27-year-old has been charged with one count of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of common assault.

It’s understood he is not involved in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in any official capacity.

He’s due to appear at the Southport Magistrates Court on April 30.

— AAP

7.45am: Day so close, yet so far

Riley Day’s first Commonwealth Games hitout ended with a “a punch in the guts” after the Australian teenager missed the 200m final by one-hundredth of a second.

Day was drawn in a star-studded semi-final last night and placed fourth behind reigning Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Olympic 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson and England’s Bianca Williams.

The problem was 2014 Glasgow Games 200m bronze medallist Williams only edged the Queenslander by 0.01, a margin that denied her a place in the gold-medal race. Day’s time of 23.24 seconds left her ninth overall, with only eight progressing. “It’s a punch in the guts ... one-hundredth of second, that’s a friggin’ kicker,” Day said.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas beats home Riley Day of Australia in their 200m semi-final last night. Photo: Getty Images
Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas beats home Riley Day of Australia in their 200m semi-final last night. Photo: Getty Images

“She beat me by that last time we raced and I thought maybe I could get her this time but obviously not.

“Just so close but so far at the same time. It wasn’t meant to be.”

Day’s time still ranks as the second-fastest of her short career that’s been exponentially rising since she shot to fame at last year’s Nitro Athletics.

“A lot of people knew me out there tonight which was really weird but it’s also awesome,” she said.

“I’m honoured to have such a good response, it really lifts you up and gets you going.”

The 18-year-old produced a personal-best 22.93 into a 1.7m/sec headwind last month at Carrara — the fastest 200m by an Australian junior since Raelene Boyle won silver at altitude in the 1968 Olympics.

Fellow Australian Maddie Coates placed fourth in her semi-final in 23.43m but did not advance.

The pair will run the 4x100m relay heats tomorrow.

— AAP

7.15am: Wells switches to Plan B

In a perfect world, Lauren Wells would have contested the 400m hurdles final at the Commonwealth Games today before making a mad dash to the long jump pit.

Lauren Wells in action in the 400m hurdles on Tuesday. She failed to make the final. Photo: Getty Images
Lauren Wells in action in the 400m hurdles on Tuesday. She failed to make the final. Photo: Getty Images

But having been eliminated in the heats of her specialist event — despite running her fastest time in two years on Tuesday — the versatile Wells has switched to Plan B in her Games swan song.

She joined fellow Australians Brooke Stratton and Naa Anang in advancing from the qualifying round of the long jump yesterday and will take a nothing-to-lose approach into the final (which starts at 7.55pm).

“I was unsure of my long jump form coming in as I haven’t jumped for quite a few weeks because all my focus was on the hurdles,” said Wells.

“My first qualifying jump was very average and that’s indicative of the lack of work I’d done but the next two were fantastic. I was only 6cm off my PB.”

It’s only natural there will be mixed emotions for the 29-year-old when she watches the runners in the 400m hurdles final go by.

But a top-eight finish in the long jump — or perhaps something even better — would be a big consolation.

Lauren Wells qualifies for tonight’s long jump final. Photo: AAP
Lauren Wells qualifies for tonight’s long jump final. Photo: AAP

In other Australian action today, Dani Stevens is unbackable favourite to successfully defend her women’s discus title (8.40pm).

The world championships silver medallist aside, the event is among the weakest on the Commonwealth Games track and field program.

Australian Kurtis Marschall and Canadian Shawnacy Barber are the two standout competitors in the men’s pole vault (7.25pm).

Luke Mathews will be targeting a medal in the men’s 800m (10.13pm), in which defending champ Nijel Amos from Botswana is red-hot favourite.

Australian teen star Joseph Deng is also in the field.

— AAP

6.50am: Boxer’s extraordinary meltdown

Australian boxer Clay Waterman has won through to the Commonwealth Games semi- finals — and prompted an epic meltdown from his opponent.

Waterman edged past Zambia’s Mbachi Kaonga in a 4-1 split decision on Wednesday evening to book his spot in the final four of the 81kg division. Kaonga was gobsmacked by the decision and quickly made it known, launching an abusive tirade during Waterman’s ringside interview with a New Zealand broadcaster.

The Zambian then fired up at reporters, accusing the judges — who hailed from China, Turkmenistan, Canada, England and the United States — of hometown bias. “I f---ing won that fight. This is bullshit,” Kaonga said.

“They are killing amateur boxing.

Australia’s Clay Waterman jabs during his victory over Zambia’s Mbachi Kaonga yesterday. Photo: Getty Images
Australia’s Clay Waterman jabs during his victory over Zambia’s Mbachi Kaonga yesterday. Photo: Getty Images

“Just because ... it is his home ground, you give him the f---ing fight when he did not (win) the fight.”

A bemused Waterman said he had been expecting a unanimous decision in his favour.

“I don’t know how you can call it bullshit when he pretty much ran away the whole fight,” the Queenslander said.

“I just thought I was in control the whole fight. Oh well, each to their own.”

Waterman will face Welshman Sammy Lee in the semi-finals later today. A fifth-generation boxer and former junior world champion, the 22-year-old is confident of going all the way in front of his home crowd.

“I definitely can beat anyone here, I’ve just got to turn up on the day,” Waterman said.

“The first day I (felt nervous) but I’m starting to feel good now.”

— AAP

6.45am: Day 8 — Aussies in action

ATHLETICS
• 10am — Benn Harradine: men’s discus throw qualifying round group A
• 10.05am — Alysha Burnett women’s heptathlon 100m hurdles heat 1
• 10.13am — Celeste Mucci: women’s heptathlon 100m hurdles heat 1
• 10.30am — Emmanuel Fakiye: men’s triple jump qualifying round group A
• 11am — Alysha Burnett, Celeste Mucci: women’s heptathlon high jump
• 11.10am — Matty Denny, Mitchell Cooper: men’s discus throw qualifying round group B
• 11.20am — Brianna Beahan: women’s 100m hurdles round 1 heat 1
• 11.27am — Michelle Jenneke: women’s 100m hurdles round 1 heat 2
• 12.20pm — Keely Small: women’s 800m round 1 heat 1
• 12.28pm — Brittany McGowan: women’s 800m round 1 heat 2
• 12.36pm — Georgia Griffith: women’s 800m round 1 heat 3
• 7.20pm — Alysha Burnett, Celeste Mucci: women’s heptathlon shot put
• 7.25pm — Angus Armstrong, Kurtis Marschall — men’s pole vault final
• 7.55pm — Lauren Wells, Naa Anang, Brooke Stratton — women’s long jump final
• 8.05pm — Rhiannon Clarke, Ella Pardy, Erin Cleaver: women’s T38 100m final
• 8.40pm — Kimberley Mulhall, Taryn Gollshewsky, Dani Stevens: women’s discus throw final
• 8.57am — Alysha Burnett: women’s heptathlon 200m heat 1
• 9.05pm — Celeste Mucci: women’s heptathlon 200m heat 2
• 10.13pm — Joseph Deng, Luke Mathews: men’s 800m final

BADMINTON
• TBC — Anthony Joe v TBD: men’s singles round of 32
• TBC — Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen: women’s singles round of 16
• TBC — Australia (Matthew Chau, Sawan Serasinghe) v Singapore: men’s doubles round of 16
• TBC — Australia (Setyana Mapasa, Groyna Somerville) v Fiji: women’s doubles round of 16
• TBC — TBC Australia (Setyana Mapasa, Sawan Serasinghe) v TBD: mixed doubles round of 16

BEACH VOLLEYBALL
• 4.30pm — Australia (Christopher McHugh, Damien Schumann) vs Canada: men’s gold medal match
• 8.30pm — Australia (Mariafe Artacho del Solar, Taliqua Clancy) v Canada: women’s bronze or gold medal match

CYCLING — MOUNTAIN BIKE
• 10.31am — Rebecca McConnell: women’s cross country final
• 1.31pm — Daniel McConnell: men’s cross country final

DIVING
• 10.07am — James Connor, Kurtis Mathews, Matthew Carter: men’s 3m springboard final. (final at 7.07pm)
• 12.17pm — Brittany O’Brien, Melissa Wu, Teju Williamson: women’s 10m platform (final at 9.14pm)

GYMNASTICS — RHYTHMIC
• 2pm-5.50pm — Enid Sung, Danielle Prince, Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva: women’s individual all-around final

HOCKEY
• 9.15pm — Australia v India: women’s semi-final

LAWN BOWLS
• 9am — Australia (Karen Murphy, Kelsey Cottrell) v Scotland: women’s pairs quarter-final (semi-finals from 12.30pm)
• 9am — Australia (Nathan Rice, Barrie Lester, Aron Sherriff, Brett Wilkie) v South Africa: men’s fours section B, round 5, match 1 (quarter-finals from 12.30pm, semi-finals from 5.30pm)
• 9am — TBC Australia (Carla Krizanic, Natasha Scott, Rebecca Van Asch) v TBD: women’s triples semi-final (medal matches from 5.30pm)
• 9.01am — Aaron Wilson v TBD: men’s singles quarter-final D
• 12.30pm — Australia (Tony Bonnell, Ken Hanson, Josh Thornton) v New Zealand: open B6/B7/B8 triples gold medal match

SHOOTING
• 9am — Sergei Evglevski: men’s 25m rapid fire pistol qualification stage 1, relay 1
• 10am — Ben Emms, Jim Bailey: open Queen’s Prize individual finals day 2 of 3
• 10.30am — David Chapman: men’s 25m rapid fire pistol qualification stage 1, relay 2
• 2pm — Robyn Ridley, Susannah Smith: women’s 50m rifle prone final

SQUASH
• 11am — Australia (Rachael Grinham, Ryan Cuskelly) and TBC (Donna Urquhart, Cameron Pilley) — mixed doubles round of 16 (quarter-finals from 6pm)

TABLE TENNIS
• 9.30am — Australia (Jian Fang Lay v Miao Miao) v Singapore: women’s doubles round of 16 (quarter-finals at 5.15pm)
• 9.30am — Australia (Melissa Tapper, Michelle Bromley) v Malaysia: women’s doubles round of 16 (quarter-finals at 5.15pm)
• 10.05am — Barak Mizrachi v Theo Cogill (South Africa): men’s TT6-10 singles group 2 game 6
• 10.40am — Melissa Tapper v Vero Nime (Papua New Guinea): women’s TT6-10 singles group 1, game 5
• 10.40am — Andrea McDonnell v Vaishnavi Sutar (India): women’s TT6-10 singles group 2 game 5
• 11.15am — TBC Australia (Xin Yan/Jian Fang Lay, Heming Hu/Melissa Tapper, Trent Carter/Tracy Feng): mixed doubles round of 16
• 12.25pm — TBC Jian Fang Lay, Tracy Feng, Melissa Tapper: women’s singles round of 16 (quarter-finals from 7.15pm)
• 1.55pm — TBC Xin Yan, Heming Hu, David Powell: men’s singles round of 16
• 6.35pm — Australia (Xin Yan, Heming Hu) v Trinidad & Tobago: men’s doubles round of 16

WRESTLING
• 10.30am — Thomas Cicchini: men’s freestyle 57kg knockout stages (final at 5pm)
• 10.30am — Connor Evans: men’s freestyle 74kg knockout stages (final at 5pm)
• 10.30am — Carissa Holland: women’s freestyle 53kg (final at 5pm)
• 10.30am — Naomi de Bruine: women’s freestyle 76kg (final at 5pm)

— AAP

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/2018-commonwealth-games/commonwealth-games-day-8-live-coverage-mbachi-kaonga-lashes-judges-in-los-to-clay-waterman/news-story/66e817d83f8369bd15cc05b7c1877286