As David Popovici has accelerated past his older rivals in the pool this summer, it seemed inevitable that the skinny 17-year-old would threaten world records, the only surprise when he broke the 100m freestyle mark in Rome on Saturday was that he got so quick so fast
On Friday, the Romanian had become only the fourth man in history to swim under 47sec as he set a European record to win his semi-final at the European Championships in Rome.
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That was more than half a second faster than his gold-medal time at the World Championships in June.
On Saturday, he was even quicker, swimming 46.86sec to slice 0.05sec off the record set by Brazilian Cesar Cielo in the 2009 World Championships, also in Rome, in the era of buoyant body suits.
“Yesterday I said that the European record was just one step in the right direction – and I was right. There was no rush and I had to be extremely patient about the world record, ”he said after his victory about him.
In the World Championships in Budapest, Popovici outpaced Caeleb Dressel, who had swum the fastest 100m in a textile suit, in the heats.
The Olympic champion withdrew from the competition before the semis.
Romania’s David Popovici set a new world record in the men’s 100m freestyle. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)Source: AFP
“It’s nice being able to say that I am the fastest to ever do it and it’s a good thing to know I clashed with all of the titans of this race.”
His coach, Adrian Radulescu said that he was too surprised by the speed of Popovici’s progress.
“It’s amazing that it is happening so early,” said Radulescu, just 32.
Asked on Thursday what makes him successful, Popovici acknowledged that success comes at a price.
“When Erling Haaland, a football player, was asked the same question, he replied ‘hard work’ So, it’s just really a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice and it all comes down to the question of how badly do you want Item; and I really do want it, badly!”
“What are you willing to do that others aren’t? This includes living a completely different lifestyle.”
This summer, Popovici has dominated the World Championships and the European Junior Championships in his home town, Bucharest.
After Rome he plans to head to the world junior championships in Lima
“Really, all I want to get out of this meet and out of world juniors in Peru is simply having fun. The medals, the records, everything, the good times are simply a bonus. If we manage to have fun, that’s very satisfying,” he said.
Not everyone might share his idea of fun.
“Everything in sports is fun. Getting extremely tired and then wanting to vomit,” he said.
“Having all sorts of lactate problems… that’s fine. It’s not fun at the time but after half an hour you don’t want to kill yourself anymore and you feel as if its all worth it.”
Popovici was nine when he joined the swimming club where Radulescu coaches.
Popovici is just 17 years of age. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)Source: AFP
“He wasn’t the easiest to train, he was mostly looking for fun, to skip his turn… But there was something special about him, he was very competitive.”
“He must have been ten years old, we were organizing a competition for swimmers of the same age,” recalled the coach.
“A 25-meter swim and the last one was eliminated… Each time, David finished second last. Ahead of him, they wanted to prove that they were good, they got tired. In the final race, the other survivor was so tired, David won.”
Popovici is unusually thin for a top swimmer.
“David has a keen sense of water,” said Radulescu.
“It’s not about how much force you can generate, but how you can put it into the speed you develop. So, yes, he is very thin, but he has enough strength to swim at higher speeds.”
But, added, the coach, Popovici’s physique will change.
“He’ll be 18 in September, his body will grow, evolve to a man’s size. It’s a challenge… to get the right balance between strength and efficiency.”
Popovici already has a nickname: ‘The Magician’.
“I was passionate about magic when I was younger, the card tricks and illusions and stuff but not anymore. It was a little hobby before swimming,” I explained.
“But yes, some people have called me The Magician because of what I do in the pool but again, I don’t think it represents me. I like to think of myself as a simple guy who just swims fast.”
World swimming has another bona fide superstar on its hands.
Teenage sensation David Popovici continued his breakout season at the European Swimming Championships on Saturday (AEST), posting a sizzling time in the 100m freestyle semi-finals.
The 17-year-old touched the wall in 46.98 seconds, setting a new European record and breaking his own world junior record.
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He won his heat easily, finishing over a second ahead of Italian Lorenzo Zazzeri, while only two other swimmers, Kristof Milak and Alessandro Miressi, managed to go under 48 seconds.
Popovici became just the fourth swimmer ever to dip under the 47-second barrier, after world record holder Cesar Cielo (46.91), Alain Bernard (46.94) and Caeleb Dressel (46.96).
Bernard is still the fastest European ever but his time was not ratified by FINA in 2009 because it was swam in a non-approved suit.
Swimming fans were blown away by Popovici’s scintillating effort in Rome.
The Romanian, who goes by @chlorinedaddy on Instagram, is expected to threaten the world record again in the final, which he goes into as the raging favourite.
“It’s a fine route to the final and a step towards the right direction,” an understated Popovici said after the semi-final.
“It feels normal for me to go step-by-step and keep improving my time.”
Popovici has taken the swimming world by storm since emerging onto the scene with solid results at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.
And in June, he became the first man to win the 100m and 200m freestyle double at the World Championships in nearly 50 years.
He dominated the 200m freestyle final and claimed gold in the 100m final in the absence of Kyle Chalmers and Dressel.
Earlier this year he also won three European junior titles in his home town of Bucharest.
In other events, Italian world champion Nicolo Martinenghi won the 100m breaststroke.
Martinenghi was a double gold winner at the Budapest worlds and got the home crowd roaring in Rome with a time of 58.26sec in his final, beating countryman Federico Poggio by 0.72sec.
Andrius Sidlauskas took the bronze for Lithuania.
Margherita Panziera won the 200m backstroke, Thomas Ceccon claimed the honors in the 50m butterfly and Simona Quadarella won European gold in the 800m freestyle for the third straight time.
Peter Bol took one look at the start list and knew he wasn’t going to get the race he wanted.
But rather than fret about it he made a decision to overcome it — and he very nearly did in a thrilling men’s 800m final at the Commonwealth Games on Monday morning (AEST).
The 28-year-old was still smiling after he took the silver medal, but there will always be a part of him that looks back at his incredible achievement as “bitter sweet”.
Bol described the race as “strange” and was left lamenting the tactics at play that resulted in the first 500m being run ultra-slow.
It was playing out as he expected — not in his favour.
Bol told reporters after the race he knew it was going to be a slow race because there were no front-runners anywhere on the start list.
It meant he was unable to run the race he wanted as he took just a brief moment to respond when Kenyan Wyclife Kinyamal took off with more than 200m to go. That brief, micro, delay was all it took in the end as Kinyamal, the defending champion, won by just 0.14 seconds in a time of 1:47.52.
It will be particularly painful for Bol to see his time of 1:47.66 after he ran a 1:47.01 in the heats — and a 1:45.51 at the world championships in Oregon last month.
Silver medalist Peter Bol was so close. Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images.Source: Getty ImagesPeter Bol did us proud. Picture: Michael Klein.Source: News Corp Australia
“Looking at the start list and there’s no front runners out there,” he said.
“So I just knew it was going to be tactical and I knew I just had to come home strong and that’s what I did so I’m happy with that.
“After the first lap, and I’ve been saying it, it’s so tactical… I saw 55 (seconds) and I said to myself, ‘Stay relaxed, stay relaxed’.
“Maybe in 20 more meters I could have got him. But it’s the 800m not the 820m.”
Bol looked like he was about to go up alongside Kinyamal with 50m to run, but he just didn’t have the legs to keep his charge going.
Bol, who became a cult hero en route to his fourth-placed finish at last year’s Olympic final, was hoping to become the first Australian in 40 years to win 800m gold.
“What an environment and atmosphere, so close but will take second today,” Bol told Channel 7. “I’m pretty happy with that, to be honest. It was a strange race again, super slow but the 800m is super tactical.
“I thought, stay relaxed, stay relaxed but he (Kinyamal) is so strong and kept going and going. It’s just racing, I raced the best I could and came up short but … silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, we are second which is really good.
Australian Peter Bol chases down winner Wyclife Kinyamal to win silver. Picture: Michael Klein.Source: News Corp Australia
“We speak of this journey and we have different people from different years, I want to say a massive thanks to my family, especially my parents… I’m so grateful for them. This is for them, this is for my family, this is for the country.
“There’s a kid out there with a Peter Bol sign so definitely for him. I have to go find him.”
Seven commentator Bruce McAvaney said the race started on a “sluggish” note and Tamsyn Manou agreed, adding: “It is slower than we would have liked.”
At the conclusion of the race, Manou said: “Peter Bol did everything he possibly could there, he got into the right position, he covered… when Kinyamal made that move.
“Peter has still done us proud. People expected him to win that gold but we are talking about an athlete (Kinyamal) who is the defending champion and there is nothing more Peter Bol could have done.
“I hope everyone in Australia is very proud of Peter Bol, because we certainly are.”
England’s Ben Pattison was third in 1:48.25sec.
Bol embarrassed the rest of the field in the heats of the men’s 800m with an imperious run on Wednesday. He then had four agonizing days to wait for Monday’s final.
The Olympics finalist won his heat and was the fastest overall qualifier despite pulling up with 50m still to run.
Bol last month had a disappointing run in the world championships final after he became the first Australian man to ever contest an 800m final at the World Champs.
Earlier, Abbey Caldwell produced a huge shock when she collected the bronze in the women’s 1500m. The 21-year-old just nudged out fellow Aussie Linden Hall.
However, you want to describe it, Aussie Kelsey-Lee Barber simply has that champion quality that all the great legends are made of.
Fresh from her record-breaking world championships victory last month, Barber pulled off a famous win in the javelin at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday night (AEST), taking the lead with her final throw.
Barber was pushed to her limits by Aussie Mackenzie Little, who had led all the way until the second-final throw of the event.
Barber won the gold by just 16cm with a monster final throw of 64.43m.
Little threw two personal bests in the competition and it still wasn’t enough as Barber produced a monster effort right at the death.
It was a super-human comeback after she tested positive to Covid last week and was isolated from the rest of the Aussie team.
Athletics commentator David Culbert said in commentary on Channel 7: “That is extraordinary, take a bow. That’s unbelievable.”
Barber, who won bronze at the Glasgow Games in 2014 and silver at the Gold Coast Games in 2018, was also stunned when interviewed after the final throws.
“I am in shock still. I went over to the fence and I said… my brain is a bit fuzzy,” she said.
“I don’t know what just happened. But you are right it is a beautiful story to share over my Commonwealth Games journey and I am happy to come away with a gold.”
Barber had thrown 66.91 in the final at the world championships in Oregon.
Peter Bol took one look at the start list and knew he wasn’t going to get the race he wanted.
But rather than fret he made a decision to overcome it — and he very nearly did in a thrilling men’s 800m final at the Commonwealth Games on Monday morning (AEST).
The 28-year-old was still smiling after he took the silver medal, but there will always be a part of him that looks back at his incredible achievement as “bittersweet”.
Bol described the race as “strange” and was left lamenting the tactics at play that resulted in the first 500m being run ultra-slow.
It was playing out as he expected — not in his favour.
Bol told reporters after the race he knew it was going to be a slow race because there were no front-runners anywhere on the start list.
It meant he was unable to run the race he wanted as he took just a brief moment to respond when Kenyan Wyclife Kinyamal took off with more than 200m to go. That brief, micro delay was all it took in the end as Kinyamal, the defending champion, won by just 0.14 seconds in a time of 1:47.52.
It will be particularly painful for Bol to see his time of 1:47.66 after he ran a 1:47.01 in the heats — and a 1:45.51 at the world championships in Oregon last month.
“Looking at the start list and there’s no frontrunners out there,” he said.
“So I just knew it was going to be tactical and I knew I just had to come home strong and that’s what I did so I’m happy with that.
“After the first lap, and I’ve been saying it, it’s so tactical… I saw 55 (seconds) and I said to myself, ‘Stay relaxed, stay relaxed’.
“Maybe in 20 more meters I could have got him. But it’s the 800m not the 820m.”
Bol looked like he was about to go up alongside Kinyamal with 50m to run, but he just didn’t have the legs to keep his charge going.
Bol, who became a cult hero en route to his fourth-placed finish at last year’s Olympic final, was hoping to become the first Australian in 40 years to win 800m gold.
“What an environment and atmosphere, so close but will take second today,” Bol told Channel 7. “I’m pretty happy with that, to be honest. It was a strange race again, super slow but the 800m is super tactical.
“I thought, stay relaxed, stay relaxed but he (Kinyamal) is so strong and kept going and going. It’s just racing, I raced the best I could and came up short but … silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, we are second which is really good.
“We speak of this journey and we have different people from different years, I want to say a massive thanks to my family, especially my parents… I’m so grateful for them. This is for them, this is for my family, this is for the country.
“There’s a kid out there with a Peter Bol sign so definitely for him. I have to go find him.”
Seven commentator Bruce McAvaney said the race started on a “sluggish” note and Tamsyn Manou agreed, adding: “It is slower than we would have liked.”
At the conclusion of the race, Manou said: “Peter Bol did everything he possibly could there, he got into the right position, he covered… when Kinyamal made that move.
“Peter has still done us proud. People expected him to win that gold but we are talking about an athlete (Kinyamal) who is the defending champion and there is nothing more Peter Bol could have done.
“I hope everyone in Australia is very proud of Peter Bol, because we certainly are.”
England’s Ben Pattison was third in 1:48.25sec.
Bol embarrassed the rest of the field in the heats of the men’s 800m with an imperious run on Wednesday. He then had five agonizing days to wait for Monday’s end.
The Olympics finalist won his heat and was the fastest overall qualifier despite pulling up with 50m still to run.
Bol last month had a disappointing run in the world championships final after he became the first Australian man to ever contest an 800m final at the World Champs.
Earlier, Abbey Caldwell produced a huge shock when she collected the bronze in the women’s 1500m. The 21-year-old just nudged out fellow Aussie Linden Hall.
Michelle Jenneke has missed out on a bronze medal but just 0.09 seconds as she finished fifth in the final of the 100m hurdles at the Commonwealth Games.
The 29-year-old was just 0.02 seconds off her personal best with a negative wind blowing in her face and it still wasn’t enough for a medal as she fell away in the final 40m.
Defending champion, world champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan won the gold in a Games record time of 12.30 seconds.
Jenneke’s time — 12.68 seconds — was just 0.03 seconds off the previous Games record, but in a lightning race all three of the best runners smashed that previous record.
Aussie athletics great Tamsyn Manou said on Channel 7 after the race that Jenneke would be happy with the result and will be filled with confidence as she begins her preparation for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
It was another brutal end for Jenneke after she also missed out on a bronze medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Games by just 0.01 seconds.
The difference this time is that the field was red hot, with five of the runners also featuring in the World Championships final last month in Oregon.
“I would have liked another PB, but it wasn’t to be today,” Jenneke told Channel 7 after the race.
“To back up my run from worlds, go fast with a slight headwind there… so really happy with that performance. It’s just tough when you’re racing a field of that quality.
“That’s the fastest race there has ever been at the Commonwealth Games.”
She went on to say how happy she is that she has resurrected her career after so many injuries set backs in recent years.
“I had a pretty rough two years. There were times people in my inner circle were saying to me, ‘Are you sure you want to be doing this?’ And I was just saying back to them, ‘I’ve got more in me’. It shows that I have and I’m really glad I could show the world what I’m capable of,” she said.
Fellow Aussie Celeste Mucci also ran an impressive race to finish seventh.
Jenneke had run the fastest time of her life — 12.63 seconds — two days earlier to thunder into the final, but the time did not count as a new personal best because it was wind-assisted.
Jenneke also ranked a career-saving personal best time of 12.66 at the World Championships.
Jenneke’s time in Oregon made her the second-quickest women’s 100m hurdler Australia has ever produced, behind only Sally Pearson.
She said after the semi-final that she was in “the shape of my life”.
She said her peak physical condition is simply the result of finally being able to have a stretch without injuries where she could get in an extended training block.
“I haven’t really changed things. It’s just one of those things where I’ve been able to string together some training where I haven’t been injured,” she said.
“So I’ve actually been able to get every session done. When you do that things seem to come together. That’s really all it is. Nothing too special.”
Jenneke had finished fourth at the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast, but she did it in a time of 13.07 seconds.
Australia will have plenty of chances to add to its gold medal tally early on Saturday night [AEST] as the action gets underground on Day 9 of the Commonwealth Games.
Australia was on top of the Commonwealth Games medal tally with 50 golds, with England closing in on 47 but that was before Saturday’s events got underway.
Now the Australians have hit 54, with four gold medals in the opening hours. Read on for a full wrap and live coverage of Day 9’s action!
MEDAL TALLY: Aussies JUST in front as Comm Games race comes down to the wire
DAY 8 WRAP: ‘National disgrace’ rocks Comm Games as Hockeyroos survive penalty shootout scare
Australia benefits from BIZZARE rule | 00:29
LAWN BOWLS
Australia could pocket up to 11 more gold medals on Saturday, with Kristina Krstic and Ellen Ryan taking home the first in stunning fashion in the final women’s pairs lawn bowls.
England’s Sophie Tolchard and Amy Pharaoh led at 11-2 at one point but the Aussies refused to go away and won on the final bowl in dramatic fashion.
England skipped out to an early 2-0 lead and threatened to make it 4-0 but a brilliant final bowl from Ellen Ryan knocked two of her rival’s balls out of the way to level it at 2-2.
England responded though with two solid ends to reassert its dominance and kept going from there to take an 11-2 lead but Australia roared back in epic fashion to get it back to 11-10.
Ellen Ryan and Kristina Krstic of Team Australia react during Women’s Pairs – Gold Medal Match. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The Aussie duo kept up the fight, picking up four points on the 13th end to lead 16-12 before England pegged it back and was up 18-17.
Krstic and Ryan though were on the brink of gold medal glory with two leading balls on the 18th end, only for Pharaoh to knock one out with a brilliant bowl on the final ball.
It meant the game finished a draw and would instead go into overtime to decide who would take home the gold.
England was in the commanding position with a few balls left but a pinpoint bowl from Ryan knocked the jack away and kept Australia in with a chance.
Once again it went down to the last ball, with Australia’s gold medal hopes resting on Ryan’s shoulders.
And she came up clutch with a stunning shot to knock England’s leading ball out of the way, sealing gold in a thrilling comeback.
ATHLETICS
‘That is breathtaking’: Comm Games record broken in 10,000m stunner
The gold rush has continued on the track, with Jemima Montag taking out the women’s 10,000m walk in a dominant display.
“That was absolutely breathtaking,” Channel 7’s Jason Richardson said.
Montag paced herself brilliantly throughout the walk and then picked up the pace in the latter stages of the race to get in a comfortable position.
So comfortable that Montag could start celebrating well before she crossed the finish line for gold with a time of 42:34:00 — a new personal best and Commonwealth Games record.
“That was surreal,” Montag told Channel 7 post race.
Jemima Montag of Team Australia celebrates after winning the gold medal. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“You just sort of pretend everyone’s clapping for you, even if they’re clapping for the high jump or the hammer throwers walking in and anytime there’s self-doubt, it really gives you a boost.
“I feel like I’m continuing the legacy of really strong Australian race walking and to go back-to-back, winning on the Gold Coast four years ago really changed my life. I didn’t think that at the time but I think with hindsight it did, it set in that self-belief. I have big dreams for two more Olympic games. So today was a special moment.”
Fellow Australian Rebecca Henderson finished fourth and Katie Hayward placed seventh.
Aussie world champ toppled in upset
There was a surprise result on track, with Eleanor Pattersonthe reigning world champion, missing out on gold in the women’s high jump final.
Patterson was coming off a brilliant win at the World Championships and became the first to clear 1.89m in a strong opening to the final.
In the end though she missed three attempts at 1.95m, the top result set by Jamaica’s Lamara Distin, who won gold with Patterson taking the silver medal.
Nicola Olyslagers was initially going to join her but with drawn from the final with a torn calf.
“It could be a few weeks and if I jumped today it was possible to be a nine-month injury,” the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist told Channel 7.
Australia’s Eleanor Patterson missed out on gold. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP)Source: AFP
Elsewhere, Julie Charlton will also be competing in the women’s F55-57 shot put final while there will be four Australians going for gold in the women’s 10km race walk final at 7.30pm.
Later at 8.50pm, ben buckingham and Edward Trippas will be going for gold in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final.
The final shot at gold comes in the men’s 1500m final, with Ollie Hoare in action and looking to secure ultimate redemption after a disappointing exit from the world championships.
Hoare was the fastest Australian qualifier after finishing first in heat one with a time of 3:37.57.
Other highlights include the women’s and men’s 4x100m relay heats.
There are lots of high-stakes events too with alex hulley (hammer throw), Sarah Carly (400m hurdles), Catriona Bisset (800m) and Ella Connolly (200m) in their own ends.
GYMNASTICS
The golds kept coming in gymnastics, with Alexandra Kiroi Bogatyreva taking out the rhythmic gymnastics clubs final with a score of 29,400.
Kiroi-Bogatyreva was also in action earlier in the ball final, placing fifth with a score of 28,600 and will be in the final ribbon later in the night.
Eighteen-year-old Lydia Iakovleva will also be in the rhythmical gymnastics hoop final after finish seventh (107.150) in the all-around final on Friday.
netball
The ultimate grudge match sees Australia’s Diamonds face England in the netball semi-final. You can read Nat Medhurt’s full preview ahead of the fiery semi-final here, with the game set to begin at 11.30pm.
If Australia is successful, it is Jamaica they will face in the end.
Jamaica’s stunning run continued as they dominated the Silver Ferns to take a 67-51 win and book their spot in the gold medal match for the first time at the Commonwealth Games.
Jamaica were the surprise top qualifiers in their pool after shocking Australia and it looks like
the Diamonds will again need to try to find a way to shut down Jhaniele Fowler.
The world’s best shooter dominated in Jamaica’s 57-55 win over Australia in the pool stage, finishing that match with 47 goals from 50 attempts and was even better against New Zealand.
The West Coast Fever star shot a perfect 54 goals from 54 attempts in the win.
Jhaniele Fowler starred in the win. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
TABLE TENNIS
Two Australian pairs (chunyi feng & Yangzi Liu and Jian Fang Lay & minhyung jee) were both successful in their Round of 16 matches for the women’s doubles table tennis.
They will face Singapore and Nigeria respectively in the quarter-finals at 1am.
Later in the night, Liu will continue her bid to become the first Australian woman to win a Commonwealth Games singles medal when she competes in the semi-final.
There will be guaranteed gold in the morning too, with an All-Australian for table tennis final between Li Na Lei and qian yang.
BOXING
There are lots of medals up for grabs in the ring, withfive Australians into the semi-finals. first-up, kaye scott is through to the gold medal fight after winning her women’s light middleweight boxing semi-final against Alcinda Helena Panguane on points.
Callum Peters will also put on the gloves for the men’s middleweight semi-final later in the night at 9.15pm, taking on Simnikiwe Bongco.
Edgardo Coumi is in action at 2am against Lewis Williams of England in the men’s heavyweight division while Australian middleweight Caitlyn Anne Parker faces Tammara Thibeault.
History will be made on Sunday morning regardless of the result as tina rahimi becomes Australia’s first Muslim woman boxer to take home a medal at the Games.
She will fight Elizabeth Oshoba in her featherweight semi-final.
DIVING
The swimming may be over but there was more success in the pool for Australia as Annabelle Smith and Madison Smith claimed gold in the women’s 3m synchronized springboard diving final.
Later on, the women’s synchronized 10m platform final sees Emily Boyd, Nikita Hayes, Charlie Petrov and Melissa Wu all in action.
CRICKET
There is plenty to look forward to in the early hours of Saturday morning too, with Australia’s women’s T20 cricket side battling New Zealand in a semi-final at 3am.
VOLLEYBALL
A dominant quarter-final performance has Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy one step closer to gold.
Their next challenge will be Vanuatu in the women’s beach volleyball semi-final at 6am.
HOCKEY
There will be more semi-final action, with Australia up against longtime rival England in the men’s hockey, with the time for that game to be confirmed.
SQUASH
There is plenty of action on the squash court too, kicking off with cameron pilly & Rhys Dowling and Zack Alexander & ryan cuskelly in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.
The mixed doubles semi-finals later in the day will feature donna lobban and pilley while Jess Turnbull and Alex Haydon team up in the mixed doubles plate quarter-final.
wrestling
There is lots to look forward to in wrestling too, with Naomi DeBruine (women’s 50kg, women’s 53kg and women’s 76kg) in action along with justin holland (men’s 57kg) and Tom Barnes (men’s 74kg, men’s 97kg).
FULL SCHEDULE — DAY 9
Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls, 5.30pm
Hockey, 6:00 p.m.
Netball, 6.00pm
Table Tennis and Para Table Tennis, 6.30pm
Athletics and Para Athletics, 7.00pm
Diving, 7.00pm
Rhythmic Gymnastics, 7.00pm
Boxing, 7.30pm
Wrestling, 7:30 p.m.
Badminton, 8:00 p.m.
Cricket T20, 8.00pm
Squash, 9.00pm
Boxing, 11.30pm
Netball, 11.30pm
Follow all the action live below! Can’t see it? Click here!
Australia will have plenty of chases to add to its gold medal tally early on Saturday night [AEST] as the action gets underground on Day 9 of the Commonwealth Games.
Australia remains on top of the Commonwealth Games medal tally with 50 golds but England is closing in with 47 to set up a thrilling race in the final days.
Here is a full wrap of the key events to come on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday morning!
MEDAL TALLY: Aussies JUST in front as Comm Games race comes down to the wire
DAY 8 WRAP: ‘National disgrace’ rocks Comm Games as Hockeyroos survive penalty shootout scare
Australia benefits from BIZZARE rule | 00:29
LAWN BOWLS
Australia could pocket up to 11 more gold medals on Saturday, with the first shot coming at 5.30pm when Kristina Krstic and Ellen Ryan face England’s Sophie Tolchard and Amy Pharaoh in the women’s pairs lawn bowls final.
England skipped out to an early 2-0 lead and threatened to make it 4-0 but a brilliant final bowl from Ellen Ryan knocked two of her rival’s balls out of the way to level it at 2-2.
“What a good ball and what a good result, one of the commentators for Channel 7 said.
“What a shot. Perfect hit, rolling the blue balls out,” another added.
“My goodness, I don’t think Ellen would have even hoped she got that result.”
England responded though with two solid ends to reassert its dominance and kept going from there to take an 11-2 lead but Australia responded in epic fashion to get it back to 11-10.
TABLE TENNIS
Two Australian pairs (chunyi feng & Yangzi Liu and Jian Fang Lay & minhyung jee) will be in action in the Round of 16 for the women’s doubles table tennis.
Later in the night, Liu will continue her bid to become the first Australian woman to win a Commonwealth Games singles medal when she competes in the semi-final.
There will be guaranteed gold in the morning too, with an All-Australian for table tennis final between Li Na Lei and qian yang.
GYMNASTICS
Shortly after at 7pm, 18-year-old Lydia Iakovleva will be in the rhythmical gymnastics hoop final after finish seventh (107.150) in the all-around final on Friday.
Later there will be more gold medals up for grabs in rhythmical gymnastics too, with Alexandra Kiroi Bogatyreva scheduled to compete in both the ball and clubs final.
Those events are scheduled for 7.42pm and 8.22pm respectively but won’t be the end of Kiroi-Bogatyreva’s day as she has also qualified for the ribbon final at 9.02pm.
ATHLETICS
There will be plenty of action on the track, with three gold medals on offer in the space of 30 minutes.
First up will be Eleanor Pattersonwith the reigning world champion looking to defend her crown in the women’s high jump final, coming off a brilliant win at the World Championships.
Elsewhere, Julie Charlton will also be competing in the women’s F55-57 shot put final while there will be four Australians going for gold in the women’s 10km race walk final at 7.30pm.
Later at 8.50pm, ben buckingham and Edward Trippas will be going for gold in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final.
The final shot at gold comes in the men’s 1500m final, with Ollie Hoare in action and looking to secure ultimate redemption after a disappointing exit from the world championships.
Hoare was the fastest Australian qualifier after finishing first in heat one with a time of 3:37.57.
Other highlights include the women’s and men’s 4x100m relay heats.
There are lots of high-stakes events too with alex hulley (hammer throw), Sarah Carly (400m hurdles), Catriona Bisset (800m) and Ella Connolly (200m) in their own ends.
Australia’s Eleanor Patterson will go for gold. (Photo by Ben Stansall / AFP)Source: AFP
BOXING
There are lots of medals up for grabs in the ring, withfive Australians into the semi-finals. first-up, kaye scott is in action at 8.30pm in the women’s light middleweight boxing semi-final against Alcinda Helena Panguane.
Callum Peters will also put on the gloves for the men’s middleweight semi-final later in the night at 9.15pm, taking on Simnikiwe Bongco.
Edgardo Coumi is in action at 2am against Lewis Williams of England in the men’s heavyweight division while Australian middleweight Caitlyn Anne Parker faces Tammara Thibeault.
History will be made on Sunday morning regardless of the result as tina rahimi becomes Australia’s first Muslim woman boxer to take home a medal at the Games.
She will fight Elizabeth Oshoba in her featherweight semi-final.
netball
The ultimate grudge match sees Australia’s Diamonds face England in the netball semi-final. You can read Nat Medhurt’s full preview ahead of the fiery semi-final here, with the game set to begin at 11.30pm.
DIVING
Two Australian duos (Madison Keeney/Annabelle Smith and Brittany O’Brien/Esther Qing) will be competing in the women’s 3m synchronized springboard diving final.
Later on, the women’s synchronized 10m platform final sees Emily Boyd, Nikita Hayes, Charlie Petrov and Melissa Wu all in action.
CRICKET
There is plenty to look forward to in the early hours of Saturday morning too, with Australia’s women’s T20 cricket side battling New Zealand in a semi-final at 3am.
VOLLEYBALL
A dominant quarter-final performance has Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy one step closer to gold.
Their next challenge will be Vanuatu in the women’s beach volleyball semi-final at 6am.
HOCKEY
There will be more semi-final action, with Australia up against longtime rival England in the men’s hockey, with the time for that game to be confirmed.
SQUASH
There is plenty of action on the squash court too, kicking off with cameron pilly & Rhys Dowling and Zack Alexander & ryan cuskelly in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.
The mixed doubles semi-finals later in the day will feature donna lobban and pilley while Jess Turnbull and Alex Haydon team up in the mixed doubles plate quarter-final.
wrestling
There is lots to look forward to in wrestling too, with Naomi DeBruine (women’s 50kg, women’s 53kg and women’s 76kg) in action along with justin holland (men’s 57kg) and Tom Barnes (men’s 74kg, men’s 97kg).
FULL SCHEDULE — DAY 9
Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls, 5.30pm
Hockey, 6:00 p.m.
Netball, 6.00pm
Table Tennis and Para Table Tennis, 6.30pm
Athletics and Para Athletics, 7.00pm
Diving, 7.00pm
Rhythmic Gymnastics, 7.00pm
Boxing, 7.30pm
Wrestling, 7:30 p.m.
Badminton, 8:00 p.m.
Cricket T20, 8.00pm
Squash, 9.00pm
Boxing, 11.30pm
Netball, 11.30pm
Follow all the action live below! Can’t see it? Click here!
Cult hero Rohan Browning has finished sixth in the final of the 100m at the Commonwealth Games.
Just an hour after he became the first Australian to reach a Commonwealth Games 100m final since 2010, Browning endured a disappointing final run that left him just 0.06 seconds short of the bronze medal at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.
It was the closest Australia has got to winning a medal in the men’s blue ribbon event since Matt Shirvington’s lightning time of 10.03 still wasn’t enough for him to get a medal at the 1998 Games.
Australia has never won a medal in the men’s event since the Commonwealth Games changed the distance to 100m in 1970. Now we have to wait at least four more years.
Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala won gold in 10.02 and reigning champion Akani Simbine won silver in 10.13. Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon took bronze with 10.14 with Browning crossing the line in 10.20.
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24-year-old Browning exploded out of the blocks and was right there in the mix with 40m to run. However, he slipped back slightly in the final run to the line and had to settle for a result that Aussie athletics great Tamsyn Manou said would have made him “bitterly disappointed”.
“He wasn’t far off,” she said in commentary on Channel 7.
“He looks bitterly disappointed, but I’m OK with that because that means he wanted more.”
In a cruel twist, Browning’s time of 10.10 seconds he set in the heats would have been enough for the silver medal.
Browning was philosophical when assessing his performance after the race. Browning said he “didn’t quite have the gas”.
“It’s nice to make a final and go through rounds of running. It’s a step in the right direction, I would’ve loved to be on the podium,” he added.
“I’m not satisfied by any means, but not too beat up. It’s been one of those seasons, and always learning.”
Browning is also just the fourth Aussie to make a Commonwealth Games 100m final in the past 30 years.
He joins Aaron Rouge-Serret (fifth in 2010) and Patrick Johnson (sixth in 2006) in the list of Aussies who have fallen agonizingly short.
Browning produced his best run of the year to send a message in the heats on Tuesday night (AEST).
He won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, was unable to reach the final, finishing eighth in Heat 2 in a time of 10.40 seconds.
Rohan Browning has produced his best run of the year to send a message at the Commonwealth Games.
The 24-year-old won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side of him and said ‘I’ve got this’.
“This is very similar to his heat at Tokyo. He opens up that leg stride. I have got
a nice forward lean. You can still tell he is looking across and he has got a bit more. Look at that face. He is so relaxed. That is exactly what you want to see from a sprinter running at top pace. He will be very happy with that.”
He was.
It’s a sign that the magical 10.0 second mark could finally fall for him.
“I always planned on running this round hard, at this level you have to treat every round with respect, but there’s two more rounds to come,” he said.
“I don’t want a repeat of Tokyo where I was out in the semis. I want to keep a bit of powder dry for the finals.”
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, also qualified for the 100m semi-finals, finishing second in his heat with a time of in 10.39 seconds.
Browning’s time was just 0.04 seconds short of being the fastest in the heats.
