Saturday, October 9, 2010

Australia pool success continues

The winning Australian relay swimming team
Jones (second from right) matched the Games' all-time best career medal tally

Breaststroke star Leisel Jones won a record-equalling 10th Commonwealth Games gold medal as Australia continued to dominate the pool in Delhi.

Her team-mate Alicia Coutts won her fifth gold of this Games as they won the 1,500m relay by over three seconds.

The men produced their own emphatic relay win to add to earlier golds from Jessica Schipper and Brenton Rickard.

In tennis, Australia's Anastasia Rodionova left home fans devastated by beating Sania Mirza in a tense final.

Rodionova became the first ever Commonwealth Games tennis gold medallist after winning 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-3) in front of a vocal crowd.

"I think what's important is that I gave my best but I fell a bit short," reflected Mirza who is currently ranked 137th in the world rankings.

India's Sania Mirza

Home favourite Mirza loses thrilling final

"It was an honour for me to be playing for my country."

Russian-born Rodionova, ranked 62nd, was the Games' top seed.

"I have been trying really hard and now I feel I am a real Australian after winning the Commonwealth Games medal," she said. "I just stayed calm."

Australia's exploits in the pool mean they have now matched their best ever Commonwealth Games tally of 54 swimming medals.

Schipper defended her 200m Butterfly title after holding off Canada's Audrey Lacroix and Ellen Gandy of England.

Rickard snatched his medal by just 0.08 of a second as he edged out Scotland's Michael Jamieson.

To be up there with names like that is something very special

Leisel Jones

Jones' career haul of 10 Commonwealth medals means she is the competition's joint most successful athlete, matched only by fellow Australian swimmers Susie O'Neill and Ian Thorpe.

"To be up there with names like that is something very special," said Jones.

The 25-year-old said she will now concentrate on London 2012 rather than think about bettering the record.

"Commonwealth Games is great, it is a lot of fun and it is a lot more relaxed but we will go to London and see from there."

Elsewhere in the pool events, Canada's Brent Hayden completed a freestyle sprint double in emphatic fashion - beating three-time Olympian Roland Schoeman of South Africa.

Gideon Louw, also of South Africa, took bronze to take his country's overall medal tally for the Games over the 300 mark.

Canada's Ryan Cochrane later added to Hayden's success by dominating the 1,500m freestyle.

The 20k walks saw Aussie husband and wife Jared and Claire Tallent scoop gold and silver in their respective events.

In the boxing, Pakistan's Haroon Khan - brother of Britain's Olympic gold medallist Amir - overcame Wales' Andrew Selby on a countback after their flyweight quarter-final finished 3-3.

Khan will face a tough semi-final against Asian champion Suranjoy Singh on Monday after the Indian demolished Malaysia's Mohammad Subrie.

Yogeshwar Dutt delighted his home crowd as he won the men's 60kg freestyle wrestling gold, while team-mate Narsingh Yadav won in the 74kg contest.

Potenshöjande medel - köp viagra på nätet

No comments: