More gold for Olympic champions
It was a night when the spirit of London 2012 came to the Commonwealth Games as four Olympic champions thrilled the 44,000 crowd crammed into Hampden Park last Wednesday.
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Kirani James, Valerie Adams and Greg Rutherford all added another gold to their collection and David Rudisha took another purposeful stride towards the podium.
The cool conditions were not ideal for 400m running or long jumping, but Olympic champions Kirani James and Greg Rutherford both got the job done impressively. For Rutherford, it was only the second title of his international career.
The Englishman opened with 8.12m which was duly matched by South African Zarck Visser in the second round. But Rutherford regained control in the third round with 8.20m which was good enough for gold. Visser settled for silver and his compatriot Rushwhal Samaai took bronze with 8.08m.
For Rutherford the victory had particular resonance as it came in the same stadium where his great grandfather had represented England in a football international against Scotland in 1908.
“A hundred years on, it’s nice to have another Rutherford doing well in sport,” he said. “It wasn’t the most incredible performance in the world in terms of distance. It was pretty chilly out there. We had a few spots of rain. But to come away with a gold medal, I’m over the moon.”
James continued his incredible form this week at Hampden Park, where he cruised through the heats and semi-finals before breaking Iwan Thomas' Games record set in 1998.
Crossing the line in 44.24 seconds, his victory in the final saw him complete a full set of world youth, world junior, world, Olympic and Commonwealth titles - all staggeringly achieved in the space of five years.
It is no wonder England's Martyn Rooney called him a 'specimen' on the eve of the final in Glasgow, where 400m world-record holder Michael Johnson was watching on from the stands.
So, having broken the Commonwealth Games record, is he now eyeing the American's long-standing record of 43.18 secs?
'Not really,' James said after the race. 'I am going to be 22 in September.
'Michael Johnson set the record when he was 32 so I have got 10 years to work with. I've got a lot of things to work on. I've got to build up my power.
'You know, I just want to try and get better and just try to come here and represent my country."
James has dipped under 44 seconds twice this year, including his Central American record run of 43.74 secs. —iaaf