BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, July 30-August 07 — With her teammates Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson controversially choosing to skip the Commonwealths for lucrative meets in Poland and Hungary, Elaine Thompson-Herah took full advantage and notched up another 100/200 double at a major champs.
After easing through her heat and semi in 10.99 and 11.05 respectively, the Jamaican star clocked 10.95 in the final for her first gold.
Behind her, home hope Daryll Neita was expected to challenge after a 10.90 PR in her semi but the Briton chose the final to have her worst race of the champs and ended up 3rd in 11.07 with St. Lucia’s NCAA winner Julien Alfred splitting the pair and finishing 2nd in 11.01.
Three days later, Thompson-Herah added a second gold in the longer sprint, flying to a Games record 22.02 and winning the furlong by almost half a second.
“I was going for the Games record in the 100 and it didn’t work so I said, ‘I must get it in the 200’. I’m just grateful to claim that gold on the day we celebrate Independence Day [in Jamaica],” she commented.
However, she was thwarted in her ambition of adding a third gold when a makeshift Jamaican 4×1 could only take home the bronze in a race won by a well-drilled Nigeria quartet in an NR 42.10.
Barbados’s Sada Williams was impressive over one lap of the track, the Bajan flying to a meet record 49.90, just a fraction shy of her recent 49.75 NR which got her the bronze in Eugene.
Another Games record fell in the 10,000 as Eilish McColgan followed in the footsteps of her mother Liz, who won the race in ’86 and ’90. The 31-year-old Scot won her first major title when she outdueled Kenya’s ’17 World XC champion Irene Cheptai to win in 30:48.60.
Cheptai led with 250 to go but McColgan attacked down the back straight and outsprinted the Kenyan in front of a delirious 32,000 capacity crowd in the Alexander Stadium, which had undergone a $90 million renovation ahead of the Games.
McColgan nearly made it a double in the 5000 but Beatrice Chebet got the better of her, and got a modicum of revenge for Kenya, the latter winning in 14:38.21 to McColgan’s 14:42.14.
Pick of the women’s field events was the long jump which saw Ese Brume leap to a 22-11¾ (7.00) CR with the last attempt of the competition after two earlier efforts of 22-11¼ (6.99). However, it was a nail-biter to the end and Australia’s Brooke Buschkuehl reached 22-9¾ (6.95) for silver in the fifth stanza and Ghana’s Deborah Acquah had launched herself to a 22-9¼ (6.94) NR with the very first jump of the competition.
WC silver medallist Camryn Rogers didn’t need to be at her best to take the hammer title but the Canadian nevertheless threw a Games record of 245-0 (74.68) in qualifying before taking the gold medal with 243-0 (74.08).
COMMONWEALTH WOMEN’S MEDALISTS
100(0.4): 1. Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jam) 10.95; 2. Julien Alfred (StL) 11.01; 3. Daryll Neita (GB) 11.07.
200(0.6): 1. Thompson-Herah 22.02; 2. Favour Ofili (Ngr) 22.51; 3. Christine Mboma (Nam) 22.80.
400: 1. Sada Williams (Bar) 49.90; 2. Victoria Ohuruogu (GB) 50.72 PR; 3. Jodie Williams (GB) 51.26.
800: 1. Mary Moraa (Ken) 1:57.07; 2. Keely Hodgkinson (GB) 1:57.40; 3. Laura Muir (GB) 1:57.87.
1500: 1. Muir 4:02.75; 2. Ciara Mageean (Ire) 4:04.14; 3. Abbey Caldwell (Aus) 4:04.79.
St: 1. Jackline Chepkoech (Ken) 9:15.68 PR (6, x WJ);
2. Elizabeth Bird (GB) 9:17.79 PR; 3. Peruth Chemutai (Uga) 9:23.24.
5000: 1. Beatrice Chebet (Ken) 14:38.21; 2. Eilish McColgan (GB) 14:42.14; 3. Selah Busienei (Ken) 14:48.24 PR.
10,000: 1. McColgan 30:48.60; 2. Irene Cheptai (Ken) 30:49.52; 3. Sheila Kiprotich (Ken) 31:09.46;
100H(-0.2): 1. Tobi Amusan (Ngr) 12.30; 2. Devynne Charlton (Bah) 12.58; 3. Cindy Sember (GB) 12.59.
400H: 1. Janieve Russell (Jam) 54.14; 2. Shiann Salmon (Jam) 54.47; 3. Zeney Van Der Walt (SA) 54.47 PR.
Mar: 1. Jessica Stenson (Aus) 2:27:31; 2. Margaret Muriuki (Ken) 2:28:00 PR; 3. Helaria Johannes (Nam) 2:28:39.
10,000W: 1. Jemima Montag (Aus) 42:34.30 PR (WL); 2. Priyanka Goswami (Ind) 43:38.83 PR; 3. Emily Ngii (Ken) 43:50.86 NR.
4 x 100: 1. Nigeria 42.10 NR (Amusan, Ofili, Chukwuma, Nwokocha); 2. England 42.41 (Philip, Lansiquot, Williams, Neita); 3. Jamaica 43.08 (Nelson, Whyte, Burchell, Thompson-Herah).
4 x 400: 1. Canada 3:25.84 (McDonald, Stiverne, Powell, Constantine); 2. Jamaica 3:26.93 (Salmon, Bromfield, McGregor, Goule); 3. Scotland (GB) 3:30.15 (Clark, Dobbin, Cherry, Yeargin).
Field Events
HJ: 1. Lamara Distin (Jam) 6-4¾ (1.95); 2. Eleanor Patterson (Aus) 6-3½ (1.92); 3. Kimberly Williamson (Jam) 6-3½.
PV: 1. Nina Kennedy (Aus) 15-1 (4.60); 2. Molly Caudery (GB) 14-7¼ (4.45); 3. Imogen Ayris (NZ) 14-7¼.
LJ: 1. Ese Brume (Ngr) 22-11¾ (7.00) 2. Brooke Buschkuehl (Aus) 22-9¾ (6.95); 3. Deborah Acquah (Gha) 22-9¼ (6.94) NR.
TJ: 1. Shanieka Ricketts (Jam) 49-¼ (14.94) (49-¼, f, f, 37-11¼, 45-9¼, 47-11¼) (14.94, f, f, 11.56, 13.95, 14.61); 2. Thea LaFond (Dom) 47-2½ (14.39); 3. Naomi Metzger (GB) 47-1¾ (14.37) PR.
SP: 1. Sarah Mitton (Can) 62-5¼ (19.03); 2. Danniel Thomas-Dodd (Jam) 62-3¼ (18.98); 3. Maddie-Lee Wesche (NZ) 61-9¾ (18.84).
DT: 1. Chioma Onyekwere (Ngr) 202-5 (61.70); 2. Jade Lally (GB) 191-8 (58.42); 3. Pamela Amaechi (Ngr) 186-11 (56.99).
HT: 1. Camryn Rogers (Can) 243-0 (74.08) ; 2. Julia Ratcliffe (NZ) 228-5 (69.63); 3. Jillian Weir (Can) 220-11 (67.35).
JT: 1. Kelsey-Lee Barber (Aus) 211-4 (64.43); 2. Mackenzie Little (Aus) 210-10 (64.27) PR; 3. Annu Rani (Ind) 196-10 (60.00).
Hept: 1. Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GB) 6377 (13.83, 6-½/1.84, 42-5½/12.94, 23.70, 20-9¼/6.33, 145-5/44.33, 2:13.93); 2. Kate O’Connor (GB) 6233; 3. Jade O’Dowda (GB) 6212. ◻︎