Olympics: Five cult heroes from Rio 2016

By Steven Oldham
Rio 2016 saw existing legends cement their place in sporting history; Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Mo Farah and so on. New stars such as Simone Biles and Nafissatou Thiam took centre stage and will look to build on their Brazilian success in four years time at Tokyo 2020.

But what about those lesser known athletes whose achievements might be overshadowed by the megastars? Here's five cult heroes from Rio.

Mónica Puig (Costa Rica)
Gold (Tennis, women's singles)


Puerto Rico's Monica Puig celebrates her gold-winning performance

22-year-old Puig upset the formbook by capturing the women's singles by defeating world number two Angelique Kerber in three sets, winning her country's first ever Olympic gold medal in the process. Unseeded Puig richly deserved her gold medal, defeating the much fancied Garbine Muguruza of Spain in straight sets ahead of eliminating double Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in the semi finals. There were murmurs that Puig benefitted from the shock early exit of reigning champion Serena Williams but given her form, the result would be far from guaranteed. Never beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam, more eyes than ever will focus on her progress in next week's US Open.

Nick Skelton (Great Britain)
Gold (Equestrian, individual showjumping)



Nick Skelton & Big Star on their way to gold in the individual jumping

A veteran of seven Olympic Games, Nick Skelton is living proof that it's never too late to achieve your dreams. He took his first individual Olympic gold on Big Star this month at the age of 58; having recovered from a broken neck in 2000, he retired briefly back in 2001 before returning to the sport a year later. A team gold winner in London four years ago, his run to glory in Rio wasn't trouble free, and was way down the leaderboard in the third round. In the final however, with the scores reset, he and Big Star - who he recognises as the best horse he's worked with - produced three flawless runs and took gold in the six-rider jump-off ahead of Sweden's Peder Fredricson.

Joseph Schooling (Singapore)
Gold (Swimming, men's butterfly)



Singapore's first Olympic champion, swimmer Joseph Schooling

Even the great Michael Phelps was left in the wake of Singapore's first ever gold medal winner. Schooling - at 22 with more surely still to come - became Olympic champion and broke his hero Phelps' Games record and beat the American into second place all in one race. His success was no fluke - he topped the timesheet in the heats ahead of Phelps and other better known swimmers including the reigning 200m champion in the same event, South Africa's Chad le Clos. A photo of the young Schooling meeting Phelps at the Beijing 2008 Games spread quickly across the internet following his success His attention will now settle on translating Olympic glory into World Championship gold next summer in Hungary.

Osea Kolinisau (Fiji)
Gold (Rugby sevens, men's competition)



Fiji captain Osea Kolinisau celebrates leading his team to victory

Rugby sevens proved to be a great addition to the Games and it's future on the Olympic programme should be secure past Tokyo 2020 given the positive reception from fans. The men's competition was dominated by World Series champions Fiji. Captain Osea Kolinisau led from the front, laying in with four tries and nine conversions, ending the tournament as his country's top points scorer. His opening minute try in the final vs Great Britain set the tone for a masterclass in sevens rugby, and, more crucially, helped secure his country's first ever Olympic medal of any colour.

Katie Ledecky (USA)
Gold x 4 (Swimming, freestyle. 200m, 400m, 800m, 4x200m relay)



Five-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky of the USA

If Katie Ledecky was any other nationality than American, her achievements would be even bigger news than they are. If it's possible to be a victim of Phelpsmania, then Katie was it. Her four gold medals, adding to her success at London 2012, takes her to five gold medals at the age of 19. She destroyed the competition in Rio, finishing her 800m some 12 seconds ahead of her nearest rival. She set new world records in both the 400 and 800m - replacing herself as the fastest woman over these distances. She is already sixth on the all time list of female Olympic medal winning swimmers and it's surely only a matter of time - four years perhaps - when she overtakes compatriot Jenny Thompson who has eight gold medals.

In a Games packed with great stories, whose was your favourite story? One of my featured athletes? Someone else? Let me know in the comments.

No Olympics? No problem! Championships galore in minority and developing sports in 2015 as road to Rio continues

By Steven Oldham

Even though there's no Olympic Games this year, there is plenty of action to follow in the sports that make up the biggest show on Earth.

Olympic sports will also benefit from the men's World Cup taking place last year - giving them more opportunity for exposure in 2015 as the months and days tick down to Rio 2016.

Throughout the year lots of sports are holding world and continental championships - here are some highlights.

Handball World Championships
Qatar
January 15-February 1

Will Spain be celebrating again in Doha on February 1?
(beforeitsnews.com)

Handball is the latest sport holding a prestigious tournament in Qatar, with the men's  world championships one of the first events of the year for Olympic sports fans.
Teams from 24 nations will contest the title, including current champions Spain, who made the most of home advantage two years ago and will be looking to seal their position as top dog with Rio 2016 now just 18 months away.
Reigning Olympic and European champions France will also surely be a force to reckoned with, having reclaimed their continental title last year in Denmark.
Having won the Asian Championship for the first time last year, the hosting Qataris should be quietly confident of achieving their best result to date.
The women's tournament takes place in Denmark in December and the majority of places are still to be determined via qualifiers.


FIFA Women's World Cup
Canada
June 6-July 5

Japan's Azusa Iwashimizu, who scored the goal
that sealed her country's first Asian Cup win
(zimbio.com)

The rise in interest in women's football should continue in 2015 with what is likely to be the most watched and talked about World Cup to date.  The tournament has grown to 24 teams for the first time, and as such will follow an awkward route to get to the neat 16/8/4/2 system that works best, with the best four third placed teams in the group stages advancing to the knockout rounds.
Host nation Canada start the proceedings against China on June 6, and all four previous winners (most recent champions Japan, Germany, USA and Norway) have qualified again. The expansion of the tournament will see one third of the teams making their World Cup debuts.
Holders Japan go into the tournament with high hopes following an inaugural Asian Cup win last year, finally winning after being the bridesmaids on four occasions.
Two-times winners Germany qualified for the tournament with ease, winning all 10 games and finishing with an impressive goal difference of +58, while fellow double champions USA will be looking to win a first title since 1999.
 

World Table Tennis Championships
China
April 26-May 3

China's Zhang Jike will be looking to retain his world title on home turf

'Odd' years see table tennis players aiming for individual and doubles titles at the world championships, as opposed to 'even' years which now play host to the team event.
This year the tournament returns to China for a fifth time, this time in the eastern city of Suzhou.  It's hard to look past a highly successful tournament for players from the host nation, and indeed from Asia. At the last edition in Paris two years ago, not one medal escaped to another continent.
Home advantage is likely to play into Chinese hands, who boast the current Olympic and World champions Zhang Jike and Li Xiaoxia in the men's and women's events respectively. Competition for the holders is likely to come from within; Jike had a poor year by his standards in 2014 and is below countrymen Xu Xin, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong in the ITTF rankings following successive early exits in big competitions.
Beaten in the final two years ago, Liu Shiwen is now higher than Xiaoxia in the world rankings and won the Asian Games last year. They both trail Ding Ning however, who took victory in both the World Cup and Asian Cup in a successful 2014.

World Weightlifting Championships
USA
November 20-29

Albania's Daniel Godelli on his way to gold in Kazakhstan last year

This year's World Weightlifting Championships - to be held in Houston - is also doubling up as a qualifier for Rio 2016. Performance in this tournament - and the 2014 event - are the most important for the various National Olympic Committees as the majority of places for the Games will be decided by lifters' performance in these tournaments. Athletes' performance will directly influence the number of places available to their NOC, and the likelihood of them being selected for Rio. There are further chances to qualify individually, but a strong showing on the world stage will surely give them an advantage. At last year's Worlds in Kazakhstan, Asian nations proved to be the teams to beat with China, North Korea and the host nation winning 11 of the 15 gold medals available between them. Russia's performance dramatically dropped off compared to the year before - winning just one gold compared to six in 2013 - it will be interesting to see which nations' lifters will build momentum heading into the final months before Rio.

IPC Swimming World Championships
Scotland
July 13-19

Will Great Britain's Ellie Simmonds repeat her London 2012 success?

Glasgow is again set to welcome swimmers from across the globe one year on from the Commonwealth Games as the biggest Paralympic swimming meet outside the Games lands in Scotland this summer.
Around 650 swimmers from over 50 countries will take part in the Championships and a good performance here could prove a launch pad for these athletes for next year's Paralympic Games.
Great Britain's golden girl Ellie Simmonds will provide the star attraction for a partisan crowd, and the seven time world and four time Paralympic champion will be keen to add to her medal haul on home turf.

There are too many world and continental championships to mention in one blog - ice hockey, judo, fencing, gymnastics and pentathlon to name but five are all searching for new world champions this year. Keep an eye on my blog nearer to the time for more features on these and other events.

MORE OLYMPICS READING

 

Olympics: How will Agenda 2020 change the future of the Games?

 

England's Helen Clitheroe not retiring after Commonwealth Games...but risks being 'strung up' if she guns for Rio 2016!

 

"Legacy? What legacy?" ask British basketballers, weightlifters and water polo players as UK Sport funding withdrawn

 

Badminton's Olympic legacy boosted by creation of NBL

 

Wheelchair fencing, football and goalball all lose funding despite big increase for other Paralympic sports

 



Who should be on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist? Part 2

By Steven Oldham

If you haven't read the first part of this blog, click here for the first five sportspeople I think should be included in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist, which is due to be released on November 24th.

Gareth Bale (Football)

Bale has made a brilliant transition to La Liga

 

The Welsh wing wizard stands football's best chance of winning the top gong since countryman Ryan Giggs took the prize in 2009. The world's most expensive player's 2014 form suggests Real Madrid were right to spend such an amount on him. After an inauspicious start at the Bernabeu, struggling with injury, Bale has quickly become one of his team's most consistent and exciting players. He scored goals in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League finals, and was instrumental in his side's Super Cup victory in September. Since moving to Spain, he's averaging a goal in less than every two games, easily the most potent his strike rate has been at any stage in his career. He also saved his international team from embarassment in Euro 2016 qualifying, scoring both goals in a narrow 2-1 victory over minnows Andorra.

 

Fran Halsall (Swimming)

 

2014 has been a great year for Fran Halsall 

A long standing member of the British and English swimming teams despite being just 24, Halsall has had one of her best years in 2014. She was at the forefront of the British revival at the European championships in Berlin as Team GB returned to form in their biggest event since the disappointment of London 2012. She won both 50m freestyle and backstroke events, and picked up another sprint double at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she won the 50m freestyle and butterfly events. Back in Germany, she was part of the 4 x 100m mixed medley team that broke the world and European records by over two and four seconds respectively.

 

Max Whitlock (Gymnastics)

 

Max with one of his Commonwealth gold medals

 

Max Whitlock is another athlete whose success belies his young age. The 21-year-old has had another stellar year on and off the mat for Great Britain and England. He won three gold medals at Glasgow 2014 - in the team, floor and all around events - and topped these off with a silver in the pommel horse and bronze in the parallel bars. He also won European gold in Bulgaria in his favoured pommel horse event, beating the Hungarian Olympic champion Krisztian Berki, and came a close second in the all-around event at the World Championships in China. His performances are getting stronger, with 2014 being his most decorated year to date.

 

Paul Wellens (Rugby League)

 

Rugby league veteran Paul Wellens

The St Helens and former England full back captained his club to a Super League Grand Final and League Leaders' Shield double in 2014. The one club man has become a legend both in Saints and Super League history, now picking up titles in three decades. This season, he also moved past the 1,000 points scored margin, and is the player with most Super League appearances under his belt. He has joined the England coaching staff but he has not yet retired from the game he has served for so long.

Kelly Gallagher (Skiing)

 

History maker Kelly Gallagher

 

The Northern Irish skier created history back in February by becoming the first British athlete to win Winter Paralympic gold as she won the Super-G event for visually impaired athletes with the help of sight guide Charlotte Evans. Her performance in Sochi (and that of the Paralympic team in general) showed vast improvement from the Vancouver Games four years earlier when no medals were won. Gallagher was the closest on that occasion, finishing fourth in the giant slalom. Similarly to Lizzy Yarnold, Kelly's success bodes well for the future of Paralympic winter sports in the UK as funding has been increased given the team surpassing their medals target. She was made an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list following her success.

 

It is always hard cutting down a list of sporting achievements to find a shortlist, and I for one don't envy the panel who are drawing up the real shortlist. How do you separate achievements in mainstream sports like football and tennis, where money is no object, and success to an extent is expected, to sports like skiing, where money is at a premium? Some athletes narrowly missed out on being profiled in my two blogs, but I feel it's right to include them as they have all had great years. 

 

Honourable mentions

JACK LAUGHER: The diver from Leeds has been the star performer in the British team this year - he won two golds at Glasgow 2014 and his synchro partnership with Chris Mears is improving year on year.

EILIDH CHILD: Hurdler Child has a brilliant chance of being shortlisted for her European Championship gold winning performance in the 400m in Zurich this year. She also captured a memorable silver medal in the same event at her home Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

GREG RUTHERFORD: The long jumper is another strong contender for the award longlist. He captured both European and Commonwealth titles for the first time this year, and holds the British record in his event.

JONNY WILKINSON: The England legend bowed out of rugby union in some style this year, playing a key role in Toulon's victories in the Heineken Cup and the Top 14 finals, in which he scored a lion's share of the points in his final games as a player.

HANNAH MILEY: The Scottish swimmer set a new Games record while winning gold in the 400m medley at the Commonwealths.

DANNY BROUGH: The Huddersfield Giants and Scotland captain topped the Super League points scored and assist tables this season and led his country to a first European title, despite being the lowest ranked nation of the four teams involved.

ROSS MURDOCH: The swimmer burst onto the international stage this by winning medals of all colours at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games, but his best and most surprising moment came when he beat Glasgow 2014 poster boy and compatriot Michael Jamieson to gold in the 200m breaststroke.

 

MORE  READING:

 

Who should be on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist? Part 1

 

Five mid-ranking countries who need to take advantage of extra Euro 2016 places

 

Glasgow 2014: DAY 6: England dominate gymnastics team events, Canada rack up the medals, Kenya lock out long distance podium

 

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

 

Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Gymnastics



Glasgow 2014: DAY 6: England dominate gymnastics team events, Canada rack up the medals, Kenya lock out long distance podium

England's gold-winning gymnasts (BBC Sport)

By Steven Oldham MISS DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE

England dominated the gymnastic events today, taking gold in both the men's and women's team events.

A returning Louis Smith helped the men to gold in his first competition since the London 2012 Olympics.

Smith, Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock, Nile Wilson and Sam Oldham - who missed two rotations due to an injury sustained in the vault - took England's first gold in this event since 2002 ahead of Scotland and Canada.

Hours later, the women's team matched their male counterparts by beating Australia and Wales to gold.

Rebecca Downie, Claudia Fragapane, Ruby Harrold, Hannah Whelan and Kelly Simm kept it clean and made the most of an error-prone display by Australia to take home the title.

In the pool, Ben Proud won his second gold medal of the Games by taking the 50m freestyle competition to add to the butterfly title he won over the same length.

There was also success for the men's 4x100m relay team who beat Australia to win gold in the final event in the pool.

Catherine Pendrel on her way to gold for Canada (@sarahtweetering)

Canada enjoyed their best day at Glasgow 2014 yet, picking up gold in athletics, cycling, weightlifting and wrestling and moved up to third in the medal table ahead of Scotland.

Jim Steacy matched Sultana Frizzell by winning the hammer event ahead of England's Nick Miller and Scotland's Mark Dry.

Damien Warner took the men's decathlon, while Catherine Pendrel won took the women's cross country cycling event ahead of team-mate Emily Batty.

Korey Jarvis also won gold for the Canadians in the 125kg, four years after he took silver in the 96kg event in Delhi. Marie-Ève Beauchemin-Nadeau also took weightlifting gold.

Kenya's dominant 10,000m runners (@VOASonnySports)

Kenya enjoyed another successful day in track and field, including a clean sweep of the podium in the women's 10,000m.

Joyce Chepkirui took the gold ahead of team-mates Florence Kiplagat and Emily Chebet.

Faith Kibiegon took victory in the women's 1500m but Hellen Obiri surprisingly missed out on a medal in the same event.

Sushil Kumar is now a 2x Commonwealth champion (@TheRSSPiyussh)        

India continued their strong pedigree in wrestling today with three gold medals, in the women's 48kg and men's 57kg and 74kg weight classes.

Sushil Kumar (74kg) has stepped up a weight since Delhi but the result remained the same, as he took victory over Pakistan's Qamar Abbas.



New 110m hurdle champion Andrew Riley (@TweetCam2014)



Jamaica are top ten on the medal table mostly due to their performance in athletics, and today they added titles in men's hurdles, and women's triple jump and 400m.

Not to be outdone by Kenya, the Jamaicans dominated the 400m and took all three places on the podium with Stephanie McPherson beating Novolene Williams-Mills and Christine Day to the title.
Kimberley Williams took triple jump gold, while Andrew Riley held off England's William Sharman to take the 110m hurdles.

DAY SIX DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS

• Scotland broke their medal record today with silver in gymnastics, swimming and shooting.
• Georgia Davies handed Wales a second gold in the pool after the country had waited 40 years for one.
  There was a first medal for Fiji, with weightlifter Apolonia Vaivai taking bronze in the women's 75kg weight class.
• Barbados also made their debut on the medal table with a bronze medal in the 110m hurdles for Shane Brathwaite
• Malta are still without a medal but it's not for a lack of effort. They missed out on bronze in wrestling today as David Galea lost to England's Mike Grundy in the 74kg freestyle.

Glasgow 2014: DAY 5: Scotland guarantee best ever Games with bowls success, Jamaica take athletics gold, Malaysia enjoy best day

Scotland's history makers Alex Marshall and Paul Foster (@_dpaj)

MISSED DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE

By Steven Oldham 

It was only a matter of time before Scotland beat their eleven gold medals from Melbourne 2006 given their successful start to Glasgow 2014, and, with six days left, they achieved this today with victory in bowls as Alex Marshall and Paul Foster won the men's pairs.

The pair romped to an easy 20-3 victory over Malaysia and in doing so secured their place in Scottish folklore as the athletes who confirmed a historic best for the country.

Libby Clegg's victory in the T12 100m in para-sport athletics was another milestone matched, as Scotland now have 33 medals from this Games - matching their best ever total haul from a single Commonwealths.

Nicol David playing England's Laura Massaro (@starsport_my)

Malaysia enjoyed their best day of Glasgow 2014 so far, picking up gold in both squash and badminton.

World number one Nicol David beat English challenger Laura Massaro to take the women's squash event while they again outperformed the English in the mixed team badminton event, meaning both David and the badminton team retain the titles they won in Delhi four years ago.

Kemar Bailey Cole wins the 100m ahead of Adam Gemili (@sportsnet)

Jamiacan gold medals are like buses; you wait ages for one then two turn up at once.

Predictably, both came in athletics - Kemar Bailey-Cole won the 100m, and O'Dayne Richards took the shot put.

Veronica Campbell-Brown had to settle for silver in the 100m sprint, with team-mate Kerron Stewart third. Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare won the race.

Welsh swimmer Jazz Carlin (Getty Images)



Swimmer Jazz Carlin became the first women in 40 years to win a Commonwealth event for Wales as she took the 800m freestyle.

She took her first Games title ahead of New Zealand's Lauren Boyle and Brittany Maclean and now has Commonwealth gold, silver and bronze.

This was Wales' third gold this Games  in three different sports - swimming, judo and rhythmic gymnastics.

English discus thrower Dan Greaves (@spogo)

England had another successful day with titles in the pool, squash and athletics.

Swimmer Ollie Hynd completed the grand slam and added Commonwealth gold to his collection, which already includes Paralympic, European and world titles, by winning the SM8 200m medley. 18-year-old Sophie Taylor took the 100m breaststroke final, having won her semi final and been the fastest in the heats. 

Discus thrower Dan Greaves secured his country's first gold medal in athletics by winning the F42/44 final ahead of Wales' Aled Davies and Nigeria's Richard Okigbazi.

Nick Matthew retained his Delhi 2010 title by winning an all-English final in the men's squash against team-mate James Willstrop. Peter Barker's bronze meant the English completed a clean sweep of the podium, with Laura Massaro also winning silver.

CLICK HERE FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOMEPAGE

DAY 5 DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• Northern Ireland edged closer to the top prize by picking up silver in the men's triples bowls competition
• Cameroon won their first gold medal of the Games, and first since the 2002 Games, as weightlifter Marie Fegue takes victory in the 69kg weight class.
• Singapore continued their dominance in table tennis, adding the men's team event to the women's title they took on day 4
• Medal table leaders Australia continue to add to their medal tally, winning gold in shooting and swimming
• Canada's Sultana Frizzell retained her hammer title from Delhi 2010 and beat her own Games record in the process

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.