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| Usain Bolt makes Glasgow smile again as Jamaica reach 4x100m relay final | Usain Bolt makes Glasgow smile again as Jamaica reach 4x100m relay final |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Of course they cheered him. Did anyone expect otherwise? On a balmy Glasgow night Hampden went barmy for Usain Bolt. Every stride, gesture, breath: oohs, ahs, noise. He was sheepish when stepping on to the track, a dark Jamaican hoodie providing monkish anonymity, but the world’s most famous athlete’s disguise lasted only seconds before he was recognised. | Of course they cheered him. Did anyone expect otherwise? On a balmy Glasgow night Hampden went barmy for Usain Bolt. Every stride, gesture, breath: oohs, ahs, noise. He was sheepish when stepping on to the track, a dark Jamaican hoodie providing monkish anonymity, but the world’s most famous athlete’s disguise lasted only seconds before he was recognised. |
| His first performance on the track in almost 11 months was recognisably Bolt too. Taking the baton on the anchor leg of the second 4x100m relay heat of the night, he was level with the Nigerian Mark Jelks after Bolt’s team-mate Kimmari Roach had cramped on the opening leg. A sharp opening of the throttle changed that. Bolt led Jamaica to victory, easing down, in 38.99sec. | His first performance on the track in almost 11 months was recognisably Bolt too. Taking the baton on the anchor leg of the second 4x100m relay heat of the night, he was level with the Nigerian Mark Jelks after Bolt’s team-mate Kimmari Roach had cramped on the opening leg. A sharp opening of the throttle changed that. Bolt led Jamaica to victory, easing down, in 38.99sec. |
| Afterwards Bolt, after three days of silence, denied that he had ever told the Times that these Games were a “bit shit”.Instead there was effusive praise for the event, which was “wonderful”; for Glasgow, which he described as “great”; and for his “brilliant” reception from 40,000 people in the stadium. | Afterwards Bolt, after three days of silence, denied that he had ever told the Times that these Games were a “bit shit”.Instead there was effusive praise for the event, which was “wonderful”; for Glasgow, which he described as “great”; and for his “brilliant” reception from 40,000 people in the stadium. |
| “I felt like I was at the London Olympics,” he said. “I love competing in front of a crowd that is really loud so it was just brilliant. Everything’s been great apart from the weather.” | “I felt like I was at the London Olympics,” he said. “I love competing in front of a crowd that is really loud so it was just brilliant. Everything’s been great apart from the weather.” |
| Stiffer tests will await in Saturday’s final, with the Bahamian and English teams looking impressively smooth in winning their heats, but as always one expects Bolt to have the final say. | Stiffer tests will await in Saturday’s final, with the Bahamian and English teams looking impressively smooth in winning their heats, but as always one expects Bolt to have the final say. |
| But the biggest roar of the night – and the bravest performance – came from the Scottish 800m runner Lynsey Sharp, who somehow claimed silver behind the Kenyan world champion, Eunice Sum, despite throwing up all night. | But the biggest roar of the night – and the bravest performance – came from the Scottish 800m runner Lynsey Sharp, who somehow claimed silver behind the Kenyan world champion, Eunice Sum, despite throwing up all night. |
| “This means so much with all the obstacles I’ve been through,” said Sharp, who has struggled with injuries and operations for the last two years and at one point even considered switching to cycling. | “This means so much with all the obstacles I’ve been through,” said Sharp, who has struggled with injuries and operations for the last two years and at one point even considered switching to cycling. |
| “Last night I went out for dinner because I thought it was just the food in the village I wasn’t enjoying,” she said. “I ordered a £20 steak, it came to the table I was like ‘I can’t eat that’. I got back to the village, threw up for a few hours. [British athletes coach] Steve Maguire took me over to the clinic and I was there until 5.30 this morning on a drip. So I didn’t eat. All I’ve eaten is porridge and scrambled egg.” | |
| Was she going to pull out? “Yeah. At 2.30 in the morning I had compression socks on and I couldn’t bend over to take them off. It was so bad. I was like ‘how the hell am I going to be able to run if I can’t bend over to take my socks off’. But somehow another miracle. | |
| “There are two things I’ll never forget. One is being on my hands and knees being sick outside my room with the nurse holding my hair back, Steve standing there and four police officers walking away at the sound of me being sick. And being doubled over trying to take my socks off while Steph Twell was asleep in the room.” | “There are two things I’ll never forget. One is being on my hands and knees being sick outside my room with the nurse holding my hair back, Steve standing there and four police officers walking away at the sound of me being sick. And being doubled over trying to take my socks off while Steph Twell was asleep in the room.” |
| On her right hand Sharp had written four words: Get Out Strong Commit. She could have added two more, borrowed from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Don’t Panic. Having been boxed in with 150m to go she pulled out to go first past Jessica Judd, who finished fourth, and then the Ugandan Winnie Nanyondo, who won bronze. There have been many gutsy performances in these Games but surely Sharp’s efforts top the lot. | On her right hand Sharp had written four words: Get Out Strong Commit. She could have added two more, borrowed from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Don’t Panic. Having been boxed in with 150m to go she pulled out to go first past Jessica Judd, who finished fourth, and then the Ugandan Winnie Nanyondo, who won bronze. There have been many gutsy performances in these Games but surely Sharp’s efforts top the lot. |
| Meanwhile England’s Steve Lewis completed a set of Commonwealth medals with gold in the pole vault. Lewis, who won bronze in Melbourne and silver in Delhi, beat his compatriot Luke Cutts by clearing 5.55m in a jump-off. However, in the 100m hurdles, Tiffany Porter was unable to catch the Australian golden girl, Sally Pearson, and had to settle for silver behind the Olympic champion. Silver was also the colour for Isobel Pooley, who cleared a lifetime best of 1.92m to come second to the 18-year-old Australian Eleanor Patterson in the high jump. | |
| Afterwards Pooley admitted she could not bear to watch other athletes failing at 1.89m. “Maybe when I am a more mature athlete I won’t have to stick my fingers in my ears and go ‘la la la la’,” she said. “But I don’t want to hear what was going on. I think a lot of people probably thought I was crazy walking around with my hands clamped over my ears singing stupid songs, but it worked.” | Afterwards Pooley admitted she could not bear to watch other athletes failing at 1.89m. “Maybe when I am a more mature athlete I won’t have to stick my fingers in my ears and go ‘la la la la’,” she said. “But I don’t want to hear what was going on. I think a lot of people probably thought I was crazy walking around with my hands clamped over my ears singing stupid songs, but it worked.” |
| In the women’s discus Jade Lally, a 27-year-old personal trainer from London, won bronze behind Australia’s Dani Samuels with a season’s best of 60.48m. Lally’s father once built a discus circle to Olympic specifications in a local farm to allow her to practise. She has trained alongside sheep, cows and llamas. This night made it worthwhile. | In the women’s discus Jade Lally, a 27-year-old personal trainer from London, won bronze behind Australia’s Dani Samuels with a season’s best of 60.48m. Lally’s father once built a discus circle to Olympic specifications in a local farm to allow her to practise. She has trained alongside sheep, cows and llamas. This night made it worthwhile. |
| The longest race of the night, the men’s 10,000m final, came down to a thrilling photo-finish with 0.09sec separating the top three. Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro held off the Kenyan Josphat Bett to win in 27.56.11. | The longest race of the night, the men’s 10,000m final, came down to a thrilling photo-finish with 0.09sec separating the top three. Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro held off the Kenyan Josphat Bett to win in 27.56.11. |
| And there was also a surprise of sorts in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase as the unfancied Kenyan Jonathan Ndiku crossed the line first in a Commonwealth Games record of 8:10.44 ahead of Jairus Birech, who has run the three fastest times in 2014, and the two-time Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi. | And there was also a surprise of sorts in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase as the unfancied Kenyan Jonathan Ndiku crossed the line first in a Commonwealth Games record of 8:10.44 ahead of Jairus Birech, who has run the three fastest times in 2014, and the two-time Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi. |