Olympic bronze medallists Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow held their nerve to claim Commonwealth Games 10m synchro gold.
Olympic bronze medallists Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow held their nerve to claim Commonwealth Games 10m synchro gold.
Daley is not defending his individual title this weekend because of a troublesome hip injury but the pair still had the measure of their rivals.
English team-mates Matthew Dixon and Noah Williams took silver.
“This medal means so much because I really put everything into that synchro competition to get to the start line,” said Daley.
“Two days ago I was not sure if I was going to be able to compete with my hip.
“I’ve been doing every kind of recovery you can imagine: compressions, ice, cherry juice, eating lots of things with turmeric and fatty oils like fish… all the things I could do to get myself even to the start line.”
“You can't go up on 10m with a hip that doesn't really function all that well.”
The pair will now compete in World Series events in Canada and Russia before setting sights on this summer’s European Championships.
Goodfellow added: “I dropped my sixth dive, which is usually my best dive. Tom's been struggling with it all week, but it turns out I was the one that dropped it.
“All the other dives were really good, five out of six, the back 3 ½ pike we did scored 90 points and we haven't done that in a long time, probably since near the Olympics. We're happy, especially as it's only April.”
Wales have followed Scotland’s lead in enjoying their best overseas Commonwealth Games after Laura Halford won rhythmic gymnastics silver.
The 25-year-old finished second in the hoop final, giving her country their 26th medal on the Gold Coast to beat their previous mark set at Auckland 1990.
It was her fourth Commonwealth Games medal after team silver and all-around and ball bronze at Glasgow 2014.
"I am just so happy with how I performed throughout the whole competition. This medal just tops it off for me. It has been a great Commonwealth Games. I am so grateful to be here,” said Halford, who also finished fourth in the ball and ribbon finals.
“We have so many Welsh supporters here, it is crazy. They gave the Australians a run for their money on their cheering. It was just great to have so many people behind us."
Seonaid McIntosh shot her way to her second bronze of the Games, this time in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions.
The 22-year-old became the third member of her family to win a Commonwealth Games shooting medal with bronze in the 50m rifle prone on Thursday.
And she visited the podium again after finishing third behind India’s Tejaswini Sawant and Anjum Moudgil.
"I was feeling good, but a bit hot. My competition this round wasn't as good as I hoped, but I was happy to get in the final. I could have been a wee bit better, but I'm happy with it. I struggled a bit with the wind,” she said.
England’s Sam Godwin also picked up a medal, this time in the men’s rapid-fire 25m pistol behind India’s 15-year-old gold medallist Anish Bhanwala who shot a Games record.
And in the women’s trap final, Northern Ireland’s Kirsty Barr picked up silver ahead of Wales’ Sarah Wixey.
Australia’s Laetisha Scanlan set a new Games record of 38 targets to take gold, one ahead of Barr while England’s Abbey Ling was fourth and Scotland’s Sharon Niven sixth.
Alex Marshall helped the men’s fours to gold to become Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete.
Marshall, alongside Ronald Duncan, Derek Oliver and Paul Foster, defeated Australia 15-13 to take the title with England overcoming Wales 15-9 to pick up bronze.
For the 51-year-old, the medal represented his fifth gold and sixth medal in total as he eclipsed Alan Well and para-cyclist Neil Fachie for Scotland.
There were further medals for the Scots too as Claire Johnston and Lesley Doig won bronze in the women’s pairs with a 18-10 win over Canada – her country’s fifth lawn bowls medal Down Under.
There was disappointment for Robert Paxton who lost his men’s singles semi-final to Aaron Wilson, meaning he and Scotland’s Darren Burnett will face off for bronze later on today.
With 28 semi-finals involving 20 Great Britain and Northern Ireland boxers, it promises to be a busy day in the ring, with the action well underway already.
In the women’s competitions, England’s Lisa Whiteside (51kg) and Paige Murney (60kg) both came through their semi-finals as did Northern Ireland’s Carly McNaul (51kg), meaning they will box for gold on Saturday.
Northern Ireland’s Brendan Irvine (52kg) and England’s Galal Yafai (46-49kg) also march on although Scotland’s Reece McFadden (52kg), Northern Ireland’s James McGivern (60kg), Wales’ Michael McDonagh (60kg) and English duo Luke McCormack (64kg) and Cheavon Clarke (91kg) had to settle for bronze.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson remains on course for gold in the heptathlon after extending her overnight lead to 174 points with one event remaining. That equates to around 14 seconds in the 800m over second place Nina Schultz.
In the badminton, Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour and English players Rajiv Ouseph, Chris and Gabby Adcock and Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith marched on into the semi-finals.
While in the squash, Laura Massaro and Sarah-Jane Perry reached the women’s doubles semi-finals, with fellow English players Declan James and James Willstrop and Scotland’s Alan Clyne and Greg Lobban doing likewise in the men’s doubles.
And in the table tennis, Paul Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford reached the semi-finals of the men’s doubles - the latter also doing likewise in the mixed doubles alongside Tin-Tin Ho.
Wales men beat South Africa 3-2 to place ninth in the men’s hockey, with Scotland playing Malaysia in the 5-6 placing match and England taking on Australia in the semi-final later today.
Elsewhere the women’s rugby sevens competition got underway with the wrestlers also going through the group clashes.
Sportsbeat 2018