Glasgow 2014: DAY 4: South Africa shock New Zealand in rugby sevens, Australia break record in pool, Laura Trott seals gold in the velodrome

South Africa's history-making rugby sevens team (@Glasgow2014)

By Steven Oldham  MISS DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE

Something unheard of today in the rugby sevens tournament, as the reigning and four-time Commonwealth champions New Zealand were beaten by South Africa in the final.

The All Blacks had never lost a match in any Commonwealth tournament since the sport debuted in 1998 and were seen as huge favourites to retain their title.

South Africa beat the Kiwis 17-12 in the final at Ibrox to secure a historic win and a glimmer of hope to the rest of the world that New Zealand are not a shoe-in to win the first Olympic title in sevens when it debuts at the Rio 2016 Games. The Springboks had twice previously won bronze but proved to be the better team today.

They also won gold in lawn bowls, as their women's fours team beat Malaysia in the final.



James Magnussen on his way to gold (BBC Sport)

Medal table leaders Australia had another day to remember in the pool, with the highlight coming in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay where they set a new world record and finished ahead of the second place team, Scotland.

James Magnussen (100m freestyle), Belinda Hocking (200m backstroke), and Ben Treffers (50m backstroke) also claimed individual gold on yet another day of success for the team from Down Under.

In the first day of athletics, Michael Shelley took the men's marathon.

England's Commonwealth champion cyclist Laura Trott (Getty Images)

England also had a good day in the pool with both Fran Halsall and Siobhan O'Connor picking up gold.

Halsall picked up the 50m butterfly title to add to her freestyle medal over the same distance. O'Connor finally won gold in the 200m medley ahead of Australia's Alicia Coutts, who was the most decorated athlete in any sport at the last Games in Delhi. O'Connor had previously won two silver medals in Glasgow.

In the final day of track cycling, Laura Trott added a Commonwealth title in the points race to her two Olympic titles from London 2012. The 22-year-old led a Home Nations podium, with Welsh rider Elinor Barker second and Scotland's Katie Archibald took bronze.

Steve Scott and Charlotte Kerwood also secured a successful day at the Barry Budden Shooting Range with both taking gold medals in the double trap.

Singapore's women won the team event in table tennis (@tdysports)

Singapore convincingly won the women's' team table tennis tournament, beating Malaysia 3-0 in the final.

They beat India and Canada en-route to the final and are a team who regularly do well in table tennis - at the last Games in Delhi, six of their eleven gold medals came in this sport.

The team also have a chance to win a medal in badminton tomorrow as they play India in the bronze medal match of the mixed team event after losing to Malaysia earlier today.

Kenya's marathon winner Caleb Ndiku (@eaofficialpage)



Kenya had a strong first day in the athletics, picking up gold in both the women's marathon and men's 5000m.

Flomena Daniel won the women's marathon ahead of compatriot Caroline Kilel, and Caleb Ndiku took the 5000m title, again leading a Kenyan 1-2 from Isiah kiplangat Koech.

CLICK HERE FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOMEPAGE

DAY 4 DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• India and Nigeria shared the spoils in weightlifting today, both picking up one gold and one silver each
• Malaysia's world number one Nicol David made the final of the squash tournament where she will face Laura Massaro of England
• The Bahamas won their first medal - in the pool, with Adrianna Vanderpool Wallace winning silver behind Fran Halsall in the 50m butterfly.
• Malta are still without a medal, but they came close in shooting, with Nathan Xuereb losing out by just two points in his bronze medal match in the men's double trap.  

Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Cycling

By Steven Oldham

Click HERE for Commonwealth Games homepage

This is the first of a daily series of guides for each sport in this year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, giving you all the need-to-know information for each sport.

Each guide will include when and where the sport is taking place, likely medal contenders and a quick run through to make you a little more knowledgeable before the Games start.
Despite only being an optional sport at the Commonwealths, cycling has been ever present at the Games since 1934.

Events in track, road and mountain biking are all scheduled to take place this summer in Glasgow and there are also para-sport events for both men and women.

WHEN?

Cycling takes place over seven days. Mountain biking is settled on one day, July 29. The road events happen on July 31 and August 3. Four busy days of track action take place between July 24 and 27.

WHERE?

Track cycling will take place at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow's east end,  while road events - free for the public to attend - will take place around the city centre. See the Glasgow 2014 website for maps. Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails will host the off-road events, around 15 minutes drive away from the city centre.

WHO?  

Australia were dominant four years ago, with a haul of 14 golds from a possible 18. Anna Meares was the star of the squad picking up three golds in both individual and team events and will be looking for more success here. Fellow Delhi champions Jack Bobridge, Shane Perkins Scott Sunderland and Michael Hepburn will also look to take up where they left off in India four years ago. 
It's unlikely the Aussies will win as many this time. The all-conquering British squad from London 2012, including Sir Bradley Wiggins, Laura Trott, Jason Kenny, Ed Clancy, Dani King, Philip Hindes and Geraint Thomas will all be in action and will undoubtedly look to benefit from competing in Britain again with a partisan crowd cheering them on in their home nations' colours.
The Isle of Man's Mark Cavendish will be one of the most popular competitors in Glasgow if he competes, having dislocated his shoulder after crashing in the opening stage of the Tour de France on July 5.

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

• Don't ask where Sir Chris Hoy is - he retired after the last Olympics despite hopes he'd carry on to take part in a home Commonwealths
• Track events come in two categories - sprints and endurance events up to 4000m.
• The event where riders start behind a motorbike pacer before being let loose is the keirin. The multi-discipline event, the omnium, will not be contested in Glasgow.
• Mountain biking is included in the Commonwealth Games for only the third time since debuting in 2002.
• Josiah Ng, set to ride again this year, won Malaysia's first ever cycling gold at the Commonwealths in the keirin in Delhi four years ago.

CAN I STILL BUY TICKETS?

Yes. Click here. Remember, you don't need tickets to view the road events. Just turn up on the day.

Will Mark Cavendish return from injury to compete in Glasgow?