There were no fewer than 14 of the 18 Para Athletes on Team Scotland in action on day three of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and there was plenty to shout about as one Scot claimed a historic fourth Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Cycling
Neil Fachie MBE was back on the track following his gold medal success with pilot Matthew Rotherham in the 1,000m Time Trial on day one of the Games. This time the pair were competing in the Sprint, an event Neil had won gold in at the 2014 Glasgow Games.
The pair have been in scintillating form down under and they threw down the gauntlet to their opponent by setting new World Record time of 9.568 in their heat. The Scots then defeated the Australian tandem in the semi-final to set up a gold medal tussle against James Ball and Pete Mitchell from Wales in the Sprint final.
It was a straight victory for the Scots, who won the gold medal with emphatic back to back race wins. This result means that Neil is now one of only three Scottish athletes to have won four gold medals at Commonwealth Games, joining Alan Wells MBE and Alex Marshall MBE in the history books.
Glasgow’s Aileen McGlynn OBE was also back in action in the velodrome along with pilot Louise Haston for the 1,000m Time Trial, the event the same pair had taken the silver medal in at Glasgow 2014. The pair put in a fine performance recording a time of 1:08.993 to finish the event in third place.
Para Triathlon
Highlander, Karen Darke MBE faced the daunting prospect of a 750m open water swim, 20km hand cycle and 5km racing wheelchair completed in immediate succession in her bid to add the Commonwealth Games Para-Triathlon PTWC title to her list of achievements. Karen finished the event agonisingly just outside the medals in fourth place, having posted a time of 1:16:37.
Swimming
Following her successful debut swim at the Commonwealth Games yesterday, Aberdeen’s Toni Shaw was joined in the pool by Beth Johnston from Galashiels at the Optus Aquatic Centre for the SM10 200m Individual Medley.
It was mixed fortunes for the Scots after the heats. Toni recorded a time of 2:38.60 to qualify for the final but unfortunately, Beth’s time of 2:51.60 meant she narrowly missed out. In the final, Toni set a new personal best time of 2:38.38 to finish the event in sixth place.
Lawn Bowls
Scotland’s Para Lawn Bowlers took to the greens knowing that the pressure was on for victories with both the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple and the B2/B3 Mixed Pair having recorder one win and one loss to date.
The B6/B7/B8 Open Triple of Michael Simpson, Garry Brown and Mike Nicoll faced a New Zealand side who had made a confident start to the Games and they proved too strong for the Scots running out 17-9 winners.
It was to be a similar outcome for the B2/B3 Mixed Pair of Irene Edgar and Robert Barr, with Directors David Thomas and Sarah Jane Ewing. They faced South Africa on day three of the Games and will have to regroup after an 18-3 defeat.
Day four in Gold Coast sees the start of the athletics programme and a debut for 18 year old Amy Carr who competes in the T38 Long Jump. Toni Shaw will compete in her third event in as many days when she goes in the S9 100m Freestyle. Scotland’s Para Lawn Bowlers are also back in action and must win games with the B6/B7/B8 Open Triple coming up against England and the B2/B3 Mixed Pair taking on New Zealand.
For a comprehensive overview of the Gold Coast Games go to;
https://scottishdisabilitysport.com/2018-gold-coast-commonwealth-games/
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