GLASGOW - Australia became the first country to win 200 Commonwealth Games cycling medals on Saturday as Olympic and world sprint king Usain Bolt arrived to a predictable media scrum. Australia's Annette Edmondson won the women's 10km scratch race gold before Kieran Modra and Jason Niblett grabbed silver in the men's sprint tandem and compatriots Paul Kennedy and Thomas Clarke captured bronze to take their country to the 200-medal mark.
Edmondson's gold came just a day after brother Alex had won the 4,000m individual pursuit. "Finally I've matched Alex. I've never come home with the gold, it's always been silver or bronze, so it really means a lot to me," said Annette Edmondson. The action on the third day of the Games was overshadowed in the afternoon by the arrival of Jamaican sprint superstar Bolt who will race in the 4x100m relay heats in what will be his first outing of an injury-hit season.
"Yes I'm here to run. I'll be running, definitely," said Bolt. "I finally get the chance to compete in one (Commonwealth Games) so I'm very happy to be here." Bolt, world record holder in both the 100 and 200m as well as double Olympic and world champion, said he had not felt under pressure from sponsors to make an appearance in Scotland, and said he would run in the heats of the relay.
Should he not, and his teammates drop the baton, the Jamaican would face the prospect of not even making an appearance on the track at Hampden Park. "I'll be running the heats," Bolt stressed. "I think I need to run because it's the first race of the season so I really need to get it going." Canada's Patricia Bezzoubenko was crowned queen of the Commonwealth Games, completing a five gold medal haul in rhythmic gymnastics.
Bezzoubenko had already won two golds in the team and all-around events and she added three more on Saturday in the clubs, ball and hoop individual disciplines. The one gold that escaped her grasp was in the ribbon which went to Francesca Jones giving Wales their first gold medal of the Games.
"I was expecting a good performance but that's it, no medals, I didn't think about it. It just worked. It is amazing it is my first Commonwealth Games. I am so proud of my country," said 27-year-old Bezzoubenko who trains in Russia. Australian shooter Daniel Repacholi won the men's 10m air pistol but the toast of the town in that event was third-placed Mick Gault of England who at 60 won a record-equalling 18th Commonwealth Games medal.
"Job done, finished, don't care anymore. I got the record and I can just relax now," said Gault. England swept the triathlon gold medals with victory in the team relay while four-time rugby sevens champion New Zealand crushed Canada 39-0 and then edged Scotland 17-14 to get their title defence under way.
In netball, the two title favourites, Australia and England, played out a group stage thriller which the Australians edged 49-48. In the morning qualifying session in the swimming pool there was more success for Scotland as Cameron Broady went faster that Olympic champion Chad le Clos in the 100m butterfly after being inspired by fellow Scots Ross Murdoch and Dan Wallace.
Broady qualified fastest ahead of reigning Commonwealth champion Le Clos in a time of 1min 57:28sec. There will be another Scotland against South Africa clash later on Saturday when Murdoch goes for a second gold in the 100m breaststroke against Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh.
England's Adam Peaty is also expected to have a say, though, as he broke the Commonwealth Games record in qualifying fastest for the final.
It was a more comfortable morning for the favourites in the men's 100m freestyle as world champion James Magnussen eased into the semi-finals with the fastest time ahead of teammate Cameron McEvoy. England's Fran Halsall continued her fine start to the meet with another Commonwealth Games record of 25:64 sec as the defending champion cruised into the semi-finals of the 50m butterfly. In weightlifting, England's Zoe Smith beat Nigeria's Ndidi Winifred and Welsh veteran Michaela Breeze to claim gold in the women's 58kg.