Commonwealth Games 2022 track cycling: day one round up

Six gold medals were won on the first day of track cycling action at the Commonwealth Games 2022 with Australia, New Zealand and Scotland sharing the spoils at the Lea Valley Velopark Velodrome in London.

Australia heads the gold medal tally with three first places - in the men's team sprint, women's team pursuit and women's tandem B sprint. New Zealand's riders took two golds, in the men's 4000m team pursuit and women's team sprint.

It was an historic day for Scotland's Neil Fachie who won his fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal in the men's tandem B 1000m time trial. Fachie equals lawn bowler Alex Marshall's gold tally for Scotland.

The Paralympic champion revealed to the BBC after winning the race, with pilot Lewis Stewart, that he'd been ill beforehand. "Fortunately it's not Covid so I'm allowed to race, but it just made that all the more tough," he said.

"But I was so determined to win for Scotland, my family here and my wife, who's got my baby to come. All that emotion drove me through those last two laps. I'm so, so proud." James Ball of Wales and Stephen Bate of England completed the podium.

Five time Olympic champion Laura Kenny, returning to the velodrome where she first made an impact at the 2012 Olympic Games, helped England's 4000m team pursuit quartet to a bronze medal behind Australia and New Zealand.

Kenny, Josie Knight, Maddie Leech and Sophie Leech beat Wales to the medal in a time of 4.17.096. Australia blitzed New Zealand by over five seconds in the gold medal race. 

Commonwealth records fell in both the men's team pursuit and team sprint finals. In the pursuit, England's team of Dan Bigham, Charlie Tanfield, Ethan Vernon and Ollie Wood took silver behind New Zealand who set a new mark of 3.47.575.

Australia took the honours in the men's team sprint, with England's trio of Ryan Owens, Hamish Turnbull and Joe Truman finishing second. The Australian's set a record of 42.040 seconds.

In the women's team sprint Lowri Thomas, Rhian Edmunds and Emma Finucane won bronze for Wales ahead of Australia. In the gold medal race New Zealand were victorious over Canada.

There was huge disappointment for England's Sophie Unwin and pilot Georgia Holt in the women's tandem sprint. Unwin and Holt finished third in the event, won by Scotland's Aileen McGlynn and Ellie Stone, but were told that they would not be presented with medals due to a rule that states third place finishers in events with just four entries leave empty-handed.

However, the pair did pose on the podium with bronze medals and mascots apparently lent to them by their teammates from the team pursuit. According to the BBC, Team England has raised the issue with the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Elsewhere there was no dream finish to day one for Ronaldo and David Beckham, the pair - India's Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam and David Beckham Elkatohchoongo - didn't make it through the team sprint qualifying rounds. 

The track cycling  - held in London as host city Birmingham doesn't have a velodrome - continues today with various qualifying rounds and the finals of men's Keirin, women's sprint, women's 3000m individual pursuit and men's 4000m individual pursuit. 

The road cycling takes place on Thursday August 4 with the time trials and concludes on Sunday August 7 with the road races.