Glasgow 2014: DAY 10: Usain Bolt heads record breaking night for Jamiaca, Daley & Adams help England seal first place, boxing success for Scotland and Northern Ireland



Jamaican closing leg runner Usain Bolt (9 News Brisbane)

By Steven Oldham MISSED DAY 9 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE
 
Sprint superstar Usain Bolt led Jamaica to gold and a new Commonwealth record in the 4x100m relay tonight as his country dominated the final night of athletics.
 

Bolt and team-mates Jason Livermore, Kemar Bailey-Cole and Nickel Ashmeade finished nearly half a second ahead of runners up England. Trinidad and Tobago finished third.
 
Their female counterparts - led by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce - also ripped up the history books - setting a new Games record in the 4x100m and finishing over a second ahead of the Nigerian team.
 
It was a day of broken records for the island nation as the women's 4 x 400m relay team got in on the act -  with Christine Day,Novlene Williams-Mills, Anastasia Le-Roy and Stephanie McPherson taking gold and again setting a new Commonwealth best.
 
Today rounded out a successful athletics programme for the Caribbean island, whose ten gold medals have all come in track and field.
 


Tom Daley retains his 10m platform title (BBC Sport)


England meanwhile are celebrating finishing first in the medals table - nearest rivals Australia cannot make up the eleven gold gap in the final day of competition tomorrow.
 
It is the first time since 1986 the English have finished as the most successful country - when the Games were also held in Scotland.
 
Stars from London 2012 helped the team cement their victory - Nicola Adams again made history by becoming the first woman to win Commonwealth gold after beating Northern Ireland's Michaela Walsh in the women's flyweight division.
 
Tom Daley won the 10m platform event, retaining his title from Delhi four years ago. He finished with 516.55 points, comfortably ahead of nearest rival Ooi Tze Liang of Malaysia who scored 433.70 points. Daley secured his second medal in as many days after winning silver in the synchro event with James Denny.
 
Back in the boxing ring, England took four other gold medals thanks to Anthony Fowler (middleweight), Scott Fitzgerald (welterweight), Joe Joyce (super-heavyweight) and Savannah Marshall (women's middleweight).
 
Husband and wife table tennis players Paul & Joanna Drinkhall beat team-mates Liam Pitchford and Tin-Tin Ho to the mixed doubles title, while the men's 4x400m relay team also took the top prize by beating the Bahamian team by just 0.05 seconds.
 

Scotland's Josh Taylor shows what victory means (Edinburgh Paper)

 

Scotland continue to add more medals to their best ever Games and took two more gold medals in boxing today.
 
Charlie Flynn and Josh Taylor won the lightweight and light welterweight divisions respectively, beating fighters from Northern Ireland and Namibia to take their country past the 50 medal mark.
 
Wth a bronze medal also coming in the mixed doubles in badminton, the hosts can be rightly proud of their 52 medal haul and are guaranteed at least one more in badminton tomorrow - Kirsty Gilmour is guaranteed at least silver in the badminton singles.
 

Northern Ireland's Paddy Barnes (GymCo Belfast)

 

 

Northern Ireland shot up the medal table to fifteenth as their boxers took the country's first two gold medals of these Games.
 
Reigning light-flyweight champion Paddy Barnes held onto his title with victory over Devendro Laisham of India before bantamweight doubled his country's gold tally in one afternoon by beating Qais Ashfaq of England.
 
Boxing has again proved to be Northern Ireland's strongest sport by far, accounting for nine of their twelve medals in Glasgow this summer.

Australia's dominant women hockey players (BBC Sport)

 

Australia's women's hockey team won a third consecutive Commonwealth gold by beating England on penalty strokes in today's final.
 
Since the sport debuted in 1998, the Australians have only missed out on winning once - in 2002, India picked up the gold.
 
Diver Esther Qin won the 3m springboard to claim Australia's second gold in this sport in Glasgow.
 
There was also success in athletics and boxing for the team from Down Under today, with Alana Boyd winning the pole vault, while Andrew Moloney (flyweight) and Shelley Watts (lightweight) beat opponents from Pakistan and India respectively.

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DAY 10 DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• Nigeria continue to dominate powerlifting - they won every gold medal available today
• There was a first gold medal in squash for India. Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa beat English pair Laura Massaro and Jenny Duncalf in the final of the women's doubles.
• Reigning netball champions New Zealand booked a place in tomorrow's final against Australia, but only just - they beat England 35-34 with the deciding goal coming in the last second of play.
• Singapore won two more gold medals in table tennis - mens singles and womens' doubles
• Kenya's Mercey Cherono led home team-mate Janet Kisa in the 5000m. Veteran English runner Jo Pavey took bronze.

Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Diving

By Steven Oldham

Despite only being an optional sport at the Commonwealths, diving has appeared at every edition of the Games since the first British Empire Games in 1930.

Both men and women will compete in a range of events, from the 1m springboard to the synchronised 10m platform pairs.

One of the most visually spectacular sports on show at the Commonwealths, diving continues to grow in popularity in Great Britain, demonstrated by the 15.9m people who tuned in to watch Tom Daley win bronze at London 2012.

WHEN?

The diving happens from July 30-August 2 and medals will be decided on every day of competition, with the men's 1m springboard the first gold medal handed out.

WHERE?

Glasgow is not hosting the diving - instead the athletes will head to the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh, which has previous experience hosting the Games - both in 1970 and 1986. It's been updated and renovated and brought up to the standard where it can host world-class events.

WHO?

Three countries have traditionally dominated Commonwealth diving - Australia, Canada and England. Canada topped the table last time out with five gold medals, but three of these were won by the now retired Alexandre Despatie - will the younger divers continue the Canadians' fine pedigree in diving?

They will be boosted by Jennifer Abel once again competing - she won the other two golds in Delhi, in both singles and synchro competitions.  10m synchro pair Roseline Fitton and Meaghan Benefito will also be looking to add to their Commonwealth medal collection, after taking bronze in Melbourne eight years ago.

Olympic champion and four time Commonwealth silver medallist Matthew Mitcham leads the Australian contingent in Edinburgh this summer. 10m synchro champion Melissa Wu also returns, with 15-year-old Georgia Sheehan making her senior team debut.

To say England are a one-man team is wrong, there is real strength in depth. Double Commonwealth champion Daley does return and is likely to be one of the stars of the Games again, but the English will be disappointed if they don't improve on the two medals they won in Delhi.

Chris Mears and Jack Laugher head in to the tournament as the leading Commonwealth pairing in the 3m synchro having placed fifth in the World Cup in Shanghai, with Laugher also taking individual bronze in the same event.

Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow are also expected to do well in the 10m synchro, but face tough competition from Australia, Canada and Malaysia's pairs, who all finished ahead of the English pair in Shanghai earlier this week.

Yona Knight-Wisdom is also set to become Jamaica's first ever diver to compete at the Games.

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

• Dives are taken from one of three heights - 1m or 3m on the springboard, or 10m on the platform
• The single events feature qualifiers with the top 12 advancing to the final. The synchro events are just finals.
• Points are earned for two elements of a dive - the execution and the difficulty of the dive. A panel of judges hand out the marks.
• Style is important - every diver is aiming for the coveted 'rip entry' into the water - with minimal splash. Belly flops are not cool.
• Zimbabwe, no longer a Commonwealth member, were the last country other than the big three and Malaysia to medal at the Games - way back in 1998 when Evan Stewart won gold in the 1m springboard.

CAN I STILL BUY TICKETS?

Sadly not. For the latest on which  tickets are left - including badminton and weightlifting - see here

Can England's Jack Laugher repeat his World Cup medal success?
(zimbio.com)