Glasgow 2014: DAY 1: Hosts Scotland off to golden start as 20th Commonwealth Games get under way



Scotland's Hannah Miley broke her own Commonwealth record in the
400m medley in front of a home crowd
(Getty Images)

By Steven Oldham

Glasgow 2014 kicked off today with a flurry of gold medals for host nation Scotland, England and Australia.

Medal events in swimming, cycling, judo, triathlon, weightlifting and rhythmic gymnastics meant the opening day got off to an action-packed start.

Host nation Scotland did well in the pool, with Hannah Miley breaking her own Commonwealth record in the 400m medley, retaining the title she won in Delhi four years ago.

There was also success in the men's 200m breaststroke, but not for Glasgow's poster boy Michael Jamieson - 20-year-old Ross Murdoch upstaged the more experienced swimmer and took his Games record to add salt to the wound. Jamieson cut a dejected figure afterwards despite taking silver.

Sisters Kimberley and Louise Renicks also both took gold in judo, in the -48kg and -52kg weight classes respectively. Kimberley overcome Indian judoka Sushila Likmabam, with Louise beating Kelly Edwards by disqualification after the Englishwoman collected too many penalties.

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England head into day two top of the medal table, claiming an impressive six gold medals on the opening day.

Triathlete Jodie Stimpson took the first gold medal of the 2014 Games and she was soon joined on top of the podium by Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee.  England dominated the competition,  taking four of the six medals, including silver for Alistair's younger brother Jonny.



England's Ashley McKenzie on the way to gold
(BBC Sport)

England also had a great opening day in judo, with London 2012 Olympians Colin Oates and Ashley McKenzie both scooping gold, in the -66kg and -60kg weight classes.  Nekoda Davis won the final gold of the night, beating home favourite Stephanie Inglis in the -57kg final, a result which helped tip the medals table further in England's favour.

In the para-cycling, Sophie Thornhill and pilot Helen Stott won tandem sprint gold in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, beating Scotland's Aileen McGlynn and Louise Haston 2-0 in a best-of-three final.

Sir Bradley Wiggins' return to track cycling saw Commonwealth gold elude him once more as the 4,000m team pursuit team were well beaten in the end by Australia in the final, leaving Wiggins with four silver medals from the Friendly Games.

Australia took three golds in the pool, including a stunning new world record time for the women's 4x100m freestyle relay, beating the former record holding Dutch team's time by nearly a second, with England and Canada second and third.

The team from Down Under also found success in the velodrome, winning both the 4,000m men's team pursuit, and the legendary Anna Meares won the 500m time trial ahead of team-mate Stephanie Morton. Meares also set a new Games record in winning and now boasts five Commonwealth gold medals among her medal collection.



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Canada took gold in the rhythmic gymnastics team event ahead of Wales and Malaysia, and also picked up gold in the pool thanks to Ryan Cochrane's victory in the 400m freestyle, retaining the title he won four years ago.

India also took two gold medals on the opening day, both in weightlifting, with the team picking up four of six available medals. Sukhen Dey (56kg) and Khumukchanu Sanjita (48kg) are now both Commonwealth champions, and the team have already matched their gold tally in this sport from their home Games four years ago.

So, what's up for grabs on day two? Shooting gets underway, There are also more medals in swimming, judo, track cycling and weightlifting. Many eyes will be on Michael Jamieson to see if he can bounce back in the 100m event.

Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Judo

By Steven Oldham

Judo is making only its third appearance at the Commonwealth Games since debuting in 1990 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Dropped until 2002, judo fans have had to wait another twelve years for it to return to the programme due to it's status as an optional sport, and it will be dropped again for the Gold Coast Games in 2018, where basketball will return instead.

Despite an on-and-off love affair with the Commonwealths, it's proved a hit with Scottish fans as there are no tickets left for judo events in Glasgow.

WHEN?

The judo competition is one of the first to finish, running from July 24-26, with medal events on all three days of competition. 

WHERE?

Judo is one of six sports to be held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

WHO?

Given that it's twelve years since the last Commonwealth tournament, it's probably more relevant to look at more recent competitions.

Gemma Gibbons was one of the surprise stars of London 2012 when she won silver for Great Britain in the half-heavyweight division. Representing England at the Commonwealths, she will be looking to improve on her performance at the world championships last year where she was eliminated in the pool stages. Cheered on by a British crowd she could be one to watch.

Someone who will be watching Gemma's match closely is husband Euan Burton, who is now a Team GB and Scotland veteran, and is retiring this summer. A multiple world and European bronze medallist, he is the most successful member of Britain's judo team in history and few would begrudge him a Commonwealth medal to add to his collection.

The only other Commonwealth nation to medal at the last Olympics was Canada. They've also won two golds and an impressive 18 medals in the previous two Commonwealths so will surely be near the top of the leaderboard again.

LET ME SOUND LIKE I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT...

• Someone who practices the sport is called a judoka
• Judo originated in Japan in the 19th century
• The aim is to throw or takedown your opponent or make them submit.
• There are seven weight categories each for men and women so there are 14 gold medals available
• To win a contest, you either have to successfully complete an ippon - a throw that takes down your opponent with authority - this ends the contest - or two waza-ari - throws that land the opponent on their  back but with less force. The least valuable throws are ones that land your opponent on their side - a yuko - and these never finish contests. Ties that finish level are resolved by golden score - or sudden death.

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Can Gemma Gibbons repeat her Olympic success?
(telegraph.co.uk)