Day 3 of the Commonwealth Games has arrived and it’s set to be packed with action – and the Aussies’ medal hopes.
After dominating the pool on the opening two days in Birmingham, Australia’s superstar Dolphins team is back on deck, with nine different events starting at 7.30pm AEST, headlined by the men’s 100m freestyle with four Aussie guns in action. Then there are a host of medals on offer in the finals on Monday morning.
Australia’s legendary Kookaburras, who have won every gold medal in field hockey since the event joined the Commonwealth Games in 1998, begin their campaign against Scotland at 8pm AEST.
It’s a massive night of Rugby Sevens action, with the Aussie men playing South Africa in the semi-finals at 10pm for a place in the gold medal match tomorrow morning.
The Australian women play in the gold medal match at 5.30am AEST on Monday against Fiji – after losing to that side in the pool stages.
Also before midnight AEST are medals in artistic gymnastics (from 18:00 AEST), weightlifting, triathlon, artistic gymnastics and cycling. In all, there are 24 gold medals on offer.
Follow the action in our live blog below!
LIVE MEDALS REPORT: Australians lead the way as NZ and England follow
AUSSIE CRASHES IN PAINFUL CRASH
The velodrome witnessed a horrific crash yesterday – but the Aussie involved bounced back.
Matthew Glaetzer was caught in a horrific shunt on the keir with England’s Joe Truman that left the home hope dashed and then taken to hospital. The incident ended Glaetzer’s keirin campaign.
But in qualifying for the men’s sprint, Matthew Richardson was second fastest with a time of 9.598, just behind Nicholas Paul of Trinidad and Tobago with a strong time of 9.445.
Matthew Glaetzer battled through a lot of pain from yesterday’s horrific crash to qualify fourth in a time of 9.652, with Thomas Cornish fifth at 9,747.
And Glaetzer won his match in the round of 16, continuing his remarkable comeback story.
IN THE SWIMMING POOL
debutant Bowen Gough moves into the Men’s 200m Butterfly final as the fourth fastest qualifier after winning his heat in a sensational 1:57.53 seconds.
Team mate Brandon Smith took eighth overall with a PB of 1:58.86s, with Kieren Pollard (1:58.99s) narrowly missed out in ninth place.
Three Australians qualified for the women’s 200m breaststroke final.
Jenna Strauch was second overall with 2:24.97 seconds, with Abbey Harkin fifth in 2:26.11 and Taylor McKeown seventh in 2:28.15. South African Tatjana Schoenmaker was first by over three seconds.
HEART OPERATED FOR INJURED AUSSIE
The first Aussies in action on Sunday night were artistic gymnastics duo Clay Mason Stevens and Jesse Moore, who are competing in the men’s individual all-around final.
19-year-old Moore was seen as a medal chance after qualifying for the final in the top group of six athletes.
To win the gold medal, athletes perform on six apparatus: floor, hoops, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bars.
Moore was 12th after two rotations – having struggled on the floor – but appeared to injure his right shoulder early in the rings routine before falling off the apparatus.
He showed incredible courage to come back and finish his routine, but was seen in the aftermath, with commentators questioning whether he would withdraw from the remainder of the event.
He did so soon after, and it is now unclear whether he will compete in the individual events this week.
25-year-old Mason Stevens stole the show wearing a classic Australian hat with a kangaroo emblem, caps and all.
He wore it from the moment it was introduced and continued to wear it between cameras.
When it was introduced, it made a sharp contrast to its rivals who wore their competition uniforms. Commentators joked that the international gymnastics body – usually very conservative – might seek to ban Mason Stevens’ unique look in the future.
Mason Stephens was 16th after two laps.
MCKEON GOES FOR RECORD 11TH GOLD
Already the most decorated Australian Olympian of all time, Emma McKeon on Day 2 won a record gold medal at the 10th Commonwealth Games.
This ties her with Susie O’Neill, Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones for the most gold medals in Commonwealth Games history.
She also has one silver and four bronze medals – but still has plenty of chances to break the gold medal record.
That includes the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 50 butterfly, plus the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay and the 4×100 freestyle medley relay. There is also a very small chance that she will compete in the women’s 4×100 medley relay.
Tonight, she will compete in the finals of the 50 free (5.05am) and the semi-finals of the 50 butterfly (4.17am).
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SELECTED SCHEDULE, JULY 31
swimming
7.30pm – 9.30pm (AEST)
Men’s 200m Butterfly Heats (Bowen Gough wins, 1:57.53s, Brendon Smith third in same race PB 1:58.86 and Kieren Pollard fourth 1:58.99s)
Women’s 200m Breaststroke Heats (Abbey Harkin, Taylor McKeown, Jenna Strauch)
Men’s 100m Breaststroke SB8 Heat (Blake Cochrane, Timothy Disken, Timothy Hodge)
Women’s 100m Backstroke Heat S8 (Ella Jones, Isabella Vincent)
Men’s 50m Backstroke Heat (Ben Armbruster)
Women’s 50m Butterfly (Holly Barratt, Alexandria Perkins)
Men’s 100m Freestyle Heats (Kyle Chalmers, Zac Incerti, Flynn Southam, William Yang).
CYCLING
19.00 – 22.30 (AEST)
Men’s Sprint Qualifying
Men’s Tandem B – Sprint Qualifying
Men’s 1/8 Sprint Finals
Men’s Tandem B – Sprint Semi-Finals
Men’s Sprint Quarterfinals
Qualification in the men’s 15 km steeplechase
Women’s 25 km points race qualification
SELECTED SCHEDULE, AUGUST 1
SWIMMING FINALS (from 4am AEST on Monday)
Women’s 50m freestyle final
Men’s 200m butterfly final
Women’s 200m breaststroke final
SB8 Men’s 100m Breaststroke Final
S8 Women’s 100m Backstroke Final
Men’s 50m backstroke semi-finals
Women’s 50m butterfly semi-finals
Men’s 100m freestyle semi-finals
Women’s 100m Backstroke Final
Men’s 100m Breaststroke Final
S14 Medley 4x100m Relay Final
Women’s 4x200m freestyle relay final
THE CRICKET
Australia’s women’s T20 team take on Barbados at 03:00 AEST, with victory guaranteeing a place in the semi-finals.
LIVE BLOG
Follow the action in the live blog below. If you can’t see the blog, click here.
