Bradley Wiggins added another Commonwealth Games silver medal to his collection this afternoon as England were unable to match a strong Australian quartet in the team pursuit at Glasgow 2014.
England finished over five seconds behind their rivals to give Wiggins his fourth silver; the Australian time of 3-54.851 was a games record.
However, England picked up their first gold of the Games in the velodrome courtesy of Sophie Thornhill and Helen Scott in the para-sport tandem sprint. The duo beat Scotland’s Aileen McGlynn and Louise Haston two-nil, although this was the host nation’s first visit to the cycling podium.
Jess Varnish finished third in the 500m TT as Australian Anna Meares won the title for the third time in succession. She now has five gold, one silver and one bronze from the Commonwealths; another gold in the sprint on Saturday would see her move to the top of her country’s all-time standings for the Games.
Another English medal came courtesy of the men’s team sprint squad, who lost out to a slick New Zealand outfit in the gold medal final. Ed Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster took the glory with a time of 43.181, which was even faster than their Games record they set in qualifying.
Results
Commonwealth Games 2014, Glasgow: day one, afternoon session
Men’s team sprint qualifying
1. New Zealand (Ed Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster) 43.254 GR
2. England (Kian Emadi, Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny) 43.730
3. Australia (Matthew Glaetzer, Nathan Hart, Shane Perkins) 44.027
4. Canada (Hugo Barrette, Joseph Veloce, Vincent de Haitre) 45.302
5. Scotland (Jonny Biggin, Chris Pritchard, Callum Skinner) 45.501
Men’s team sprint final
1. New Zealand (Ed Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster) 43.181 GR
2. England (Kian Emadi, Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny) 43.706
3. Australia (Matthew Glaetzer, Nathan Hart, Shane Perkins) 43.709
4. Canada (Hugo Barrette, Joseph Veloce, Vincent de Haitre) 45.054
Men’s team pursuit final
1. Australia (Jack Bobridge, Luke Davison, Alex Edmondson, Glenn O’Shea) 3-54.851 GR
2. England (Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, Andy Tennant, Bradley Wiggins) 4-00.136
3. New Zealand (Shane Archbold, Pieter Bulling, Dylan Kennett, Marc Ryan) caught Canada (Zach Bell, Aidan Caves, Remi Pelletier, Ed Veal)
Women’s para-sport tandem final
1. Sophie Thornhill w/Helen Scott (Eng) beat Aileen McGlynn w/Louise Haston (Sco) 2-0
3. Brandie O’Connor w/Breanna Hargrave (Aus) beat Felicity Johnson w/Holly Takos (Aus)
Women’s 500m time trial final
1. Anna Meares (Aus) 33.435 GR
2. Stephanie Morton (Aus) 34.079
3. Jess Varnish (Eng) 34.267
4. Stephanie McKenzie (NZl) 34.444
5. Fatehah Mustapa (Mas) 34.667
Sophie Thornhill and Helen Scott, tandem winners, Commonwealth Games 2014, track day one, afternoon
England with silver in team pursuit, Commonwealth Games 2014, track day one, afternoon
Anna Meares, Commonwealth Games 2014, track day one, afternoon
New Zealand win team sprint, Commonwealth Games 2014, track day one, afternoon
Australia win team pursuit, Commonwealth Games 2014, track day one, afternoon
Bradley Wiggins satisfied with team pursuit silver
Four-time Olympic champion admits there is "work to do" after Australia beat England at Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
