The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Silver is taken in stride by Doyle
Kinross 400m hurdler produces fine finish to add to medal haul
Eilidh Doyle, Scotland’s most decorated track and field athlete ever, produced on the big stage yet again and completed a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games silver medals.
The Kinross 400m hurdler timed her finish to perfection to come home second in 54.80 seconds, behind Jamaican Janieve Russell. The bronze went to South Africa’s Wenda Nel.
By securing silver on the Gold Coast the former Perth Grammar School teacher replicated her achievements at Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014, where she also finished second on the podium in the hurdles.
The 31-year-old now has 15 major international medals in her collection and will be hoping to make it 16 in the 4x400m relay tomorrow.
“I’m absolutely delighted to come away with a medal,” said Scotland’s flagbearer at the opening ceremony.
“That meant so much. I knew this would be the hardest games to win a medal at.
“I had to focus on my own race and execute the right stride pattern. It was a nice clean race. I’ve got a really good team around brilliant.”
She added: “I’ve been lucky to win a number of medals in my career and they mean a lot to me. I will treasure them for the rest of my life.
“There won’t be too much celebrating of this one at the moment though, because we have the 4x400m relay still to come.
“We will go back to the village, enjoy it and reflect on it, and then on Friday I will turn my thoughts to coming back to this stadium.
“The atmosphere was great and could hear so many Scottish voices.”
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson, now a BBC analyst, praised Doyle for her latest success.
He said: “Eilidh Doyle is consistent and it is about understanding who you are as an athlete. She has had very few disappointments over the years and she usually delivers.
“She understood this was going to be more difficult than the race four years ago when she took silver.
“She is a strong finisher, a tough finisher and we saw that by moving from bronze to silver and executing the best she could.”
Doyle’s medal takes Scotland’s medal haul to 35, which makes it the secondhighest medal tally at any games, behind only Glasgow 2014.
The team sit seventh in the overall medal standings with seven gold, 13 silver and 15 bronze.
Meanwhile, England’s Zharnel Hughes celebrated victory in the men’s 200 metres final before being told he had been disqualified for catching Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards me, they have been
IThat meant so much. I knew this would be the hardest games to win a medal. EILIDH DOYLE
in the face with his arm. Hughes crossed the line ahead of Richards, with both men clocked at 20.12 seconds.
But, as he completed a lap of honour with the cross of St George draped over his shoulders, race officials told him of his disqualification.
Television replays showed Hughes’ left arm accidentally caught Richards in the face and affected his finish.
Team England lodged an appeal against the decision, to no avail.
Hughes’ disqualification meant Northern Ireland’s Leon Reid, who had finished fourth in the race, was bumped up to a bronze medal. Canada’s Aaron Brown moved up to the silver medal.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson leads in the heptathlon overnight after victory in her 200 metres heat gave her a 126point lead after the first day of competition.
The world indoor pentathlon champion claimed victory in 23.56 seconds to move on to 3,765 points ahead of today’s javelin, long jump and 800m.
Kyle Langford won silver in the men’s 800m with a personal best of 1:45.16, narrowly behind Kenya’s Wycliffe Kinyamal who won in 1:45.11. Scotland’s Jake Wightman was fourth.
England’s Dina Asher-Smith won bronze in the women’s 200m final as Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas took gold and silver went to Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson.
Shara Proctor picked up bronze in the women’s long jump.
There was huge disappointment for Scotland’s Lynsey Sharp, the Glasgow 2014 silver medallist failing to advance to the women’s 800m final after finishing fourth in the third and final heat.