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Eilidh Child wins emotional silver medal at the Commonwealth Games Eilidh Child wins emotional silver medal at the Commonwealth Games
(35 minutes later)
The Proclaimers’ catchiest hit has been sung plenty at this Commonwealth Games but never as lustily as when Eilidh Child took silver in the 400m hurdles last night. A standing ovation clapped and stamped her around for her victory lap after the poster girl for this Games added a second Commonwealth medal to the one she took in Delhi four years ago. At the end, she ran over to her sister and her father, who indicated the tears that were already tracking their way down his own face. The Proclaimers’ catchiest hit has been sung plenty at this Commonwealth Games but never as lustily as when Eilidh Child took silver in the 400m hurdles on Thursday night. A standing ovation of 40,000 clapped and stamped her around her victory lap after the poster girl for this games won a second Commonwealth medal to add to the one she took in Delhi four years ago.
“I’m relieved,” she admitted after the race. “I had every emotion going on and I was just trying not to get carried away with the emotion. It’s been a nervous couple of days. I’m just so delighted. I’ve got a great team around me who have kept me grounded all the way. I’m going to enjoy the rest of tonight.” It was not the gold she had hoped for and so Scotland’s 20-year wait for that particular medal goes on. But it was the high point of a great night for the home nations’ women and for a crowd who have proven themselves more than generously inclined towards their southerly neighbours. Child’s race had always been going to be the main show but the dramatic entrance of young English talent stole several scenes and brought medals galore.
After a rain-soaked evening, the signs were good – the sun had come out just as Child appeared on the track. She held strong for the first 200m, holding off the threat from Jamaica’s Janieve Russell in third. There was nearly a second between her and the Jamaican winner Kaliese Spencer, who won in a time of 54.10. After a rain-soaked evening, it seemed a golden omen for Child when the sun emerged just as she appeared on the track. She started fast, matching Kaliese Spencer for pace round the top bend, moving clear of Spencer’s team-mate Janieve Russell in third. But Spencer pulled away and Child finished nearly a second behind her. “I knew I would have to be on my A game to beat Kaliese and she ran faster than my PB there so I think the right lady won,” she said afterwards.
“I really had to be on my A game to beat Kaliese and she ran faster than my PB tonight but I am just so happy with how I ran.” And while it was not the gold they had longed for – Scotland’s 20 year wait will go on – the Hampden roar attested to a thoroughly satisfactory night for the home nations at the track. The 27-year-old local hero admitted that the pressure of the occasion had been nerve-racking and it had been a nervous couple of days. “I’m relieved,” she said. “I had every emotion going on and I was just trying not to get carried away with the emotion.” But there was no suggestion of disappointment with the result. “I put down a really good, race I stepped off that track knowing I had given it everything and I’m just delighted to come away with a silver medal … I’m going to enjoy the rest of tonight.”
For England’s sprinters – and a Scottish crowd who have proven themselves more than generously inclined towards their near neighbours – there was a perfect start to the evening. All three of their athletes qualified for the 200m final, with Jodie Williams, the 20-year-old who cruelly missed her place at the London Olympics through injury, second to the strong favourite Blessing Okagbare. England’s trio of sprinters had a perfect with all of them qualifying for the 200m final. Jodie Williams (no relation) qualified second behind Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare who had already taken the 100m title and was the strong favourite here.
The Nigerian took the 100m title here on Monday by a street but Williams stuck with her in the first semi-final to run 22.64, only four-hundreths outside her personal best, with Anyika Onuora and Bianca Williams qualifying in fifth and seventh respectively. But while Okagbare’s win was almost a formality, the final had more surprises in store with a two-three-four finish for the England women, all three of them recording personal bests. That might have been achievement enough for the 20-year-old who cruelly missed her place at the London Olympics through injury but she ran Okagbare just as hard in the final and her team-mates fought with her. She, her namesake Bianca, and Anyika Onuora secured an England 2-3-4, leaving a field of Jamaicans in their wake. “I’m in a big world of shock right now,” said Jodie, as she emerged from the track. “I was gritting my teeth and giving it my all.
More excitement was unfolding in the long jump, where things had started badly for England as Shara Proctor managed only two steps of a run-up before leaving the arena in tears. With Okagbare busy competing in the 200m, and Katarina Johnson-Thompson absent from the event, gold might have been ripe for the taking for Proctor, who took the overall Diamond League title last year and finished sixth in the World Championships. But she pulled up at her first attempt, holding her left thigh in pain, and left the field with her hoodie pulled sorrowfully around her face. “ This is just the start,” she added. “This is a massive thing – we beat the Jamaicans. People are quick to write off women’s sprinters but we have shown that we can peak on this stage and in front of a strong field.”
Instead, Jazmin Sawyers, only 20 years old, produced a 6.30m and a 6.40m to see her into bronze medal position, before unleashing a season best 6.54m with her final jump to steal the silver from Canada’s Christabel Nettey. Ese Brume of Nigeria took the gold, and Sawyers’ team-mate Lorraine Ugen finished fifth. There was a dramatic denouement, too, in the long jump, where England’s prospects had suffered the worst possible start. Shara Proctor, who might have had hopes of gold while Okagbare busied herself with the 200m, managed only two steps of a run-up before clutching at her left thigh, and leaving the arena with her hoodie pulled sorrowfully around her face. But Jazmin Sawyers, only 20 years old, produced a 6.30 and a 6.40 to see her into bronze medal position behind Nigeria’s Ese Brume and Canada’s Christabel Nettey.
In the T54, England wheelchair racer Jade Jones scored a Commonwealth bronze as her first senior medal, in her favourite event, the 1500m. It was an impressive achievement for the 18 year old – “I am always the youngest on the start line, so it’s always nervous going up against the older girls,” she said – in a race rendered particularly difficult by the Glasgow rain. The treacherous conditions made for a slow, cagy race, but the experience of Australia’s Angela Ballard and Canadian Diane Roy paid in the final lap, Jones staying with them as they pulled away from the pack. In her last jump, Sawyers, who has also showcased her explosive power in bobsleigh, unleashed its full extent with a season’s best 6.54 that stole silver from Nettey.
“It’s a bit slippy, but I knew I had to keep my cool,” said Jones, who had never imagined finishing with a medal. “It was an unexpected outcome, definitely. My aim coming into this was top five, never a medal.” To top it off, there was a bronze for the 18-year-old England wheelchair racer Jade Jones – her first senior medal – in the T54 1500m. It was an impressive achievement for a young woman whose aim here was a top-five finish, in a race rendered particularly difficult by the treacherous conditions.
Meanwhile England’s Jessica Judd won her 800m semi-final, her hair streaming loose behind her as she led from the front. “It’s a bit slippy, but I knew I had to keep my cool,” said Jones, and she did, staying with Australia’s Angela Ballard and Canadian Diane Roy as the more experienced pair pulled away from the pack in the final lap to take gold and silver respectively.
Jenny Meadows and Scotland’s Lynsey Sharp also qualified for Friday’s final as fastest losers, and will be pleased to have pushed each other, Sharp beating Meadows on the line in a photo-finish to secure their places. The crowd will be hoping this streak continues on Friday. Jessica Judd, who has the look of a woodland nymph when she runs, will be back with her hair streaming loose behind her in Friday’s 800m final, after qualifying alongside Jenny Meadows and Scotland’s Lynsey Sharp, who went through as fastest losers.