Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Australian cycling really is having a moment.
Leigh Hoffman is the final rider in the men’s sprint qualifying and punches out a 9.361 to qualify fastest and set a new Games record.
His ride caps off an impressive qualifying for all three of Australia’s riders, with Ryan Tate qualifying fifth fastest with a time of 9.641, along with Daniel James Barber in seventh with 9.641.
Next up, it’s the men’s tandem B sprint qualifying.
Australia’s Kane Perris – who won bronze the other day – is in that one with his pilot Luke Zaccaria.
Australia are on track to clean sweep the podium in the women’s race walk.
Sure, there’s 18 laps to go but Australia’s Elizabeth McMillen and Jemima Montag are out front, 60 metres ahead of Rebecca Henderson who’s about the same distance ahead of the first non-Australian athlete.
Like the men’s race this is an Australia-dominated field – there are only six walkers in the field and three of them are Australian, so we should be a decent chance of a medal!
Like yesterday, the threat can come from being carded for poor technique and potentially being sin-binned.
New Zealand led from start to finish to secure a place in the gold medal game on Sunday AEST following a 61-53 semi-final win over England tonight.
It’s the Silver Ferns first Commonwealth Games gold medal match since 2014, according to the broadcasters.
The Silver Ferns were a picture of consistency and focus in the win while the Roses chopped and changed their line-up looking a lineup that could stop the flowing passes to towering shooter Grace Nweke.
Alas, nothing had a meaningful impact.
The last term is about to begin between NZ and England with the Silver Ferns up 46-37.
It will take something miraculous for the Roses to come back in this match as they have struggled to find a line-up that works against the powerful NZ side.
The home crowd is raucous for the Roses, perhaps they can fire them up but it’s been all NZ who are still using their starting seven.
NZ 47-38 England with 14 minutes to go in the match.
Just two months ago, a Commonwealth Games debut looked impossible for Blake Agnoletto.
A nasty crash in the Le Tour Bretagne on April 29 left him with a broken collarbone and fractured radial head, and he required surgery to put himself back together again.
“I broke my right collarbone in half. I had a crash at Tour Bretagne – it was a couple of weeks later I realised I actually broke my radial head also of my elbow,” he said.
England have mounted a fightback against New Zealand in their netball semi-final but the Silver Ferns still lead.
The Roses have upped their defensive intensity and slowed NZ’s attacks but they are still finding ways to get the ball to shooter Grace Nweke who continues to give her side an elite target.
New Zealand 35-26 England with nine minutes to go in the third quarter.
When Georgia Baker woke up yesterday morning, she didn’t know history was on the line.
Then she got a message from her friend and former teammate Alex Manly, who she won gold with in the team pursuit back at the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast. Manly let her know that, with a win yesterday, she would become one of Australia’s greatest cyclists in Commonwealth Games history.
After a gold in the women’s team pursuit on Thursday, Baker needed one more gold to equal that of cycling greats Anna Meares, Matthew Glaetzer and Bradley McGee who had five.
As we count down to the Australian Diamonds playing their semi-final at 10pm AEST, New Zealand Silver Ferns have struck first in their semi-final with England Roses.
The Silver Ferns were comfortably the better side in the first term, forcing the Roses to make multiple changes including bringing veteran shooter Elanour Cardwell on after leaving her on the bench to start with.
Maggie Gordon has been impressive in mid-court while NZ shooter Grace Nweke has been dominant in her goal circle shooting 18 goals from 18 shots, although the Roses have forced NZ to slow down their ball movement early in the second term.
New Zealand 21-13 England with nine mins to go in the second quarter.
Good evening readers.
It’s another rainy day in Glasgow, but I’m coming to you from the safety and warmth of the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome.
It’s day three of the cycling, and there are another eight medal races today.
