The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Team Scotland close with 44-medal haul
Final-day bronze brings total nine short of record set in Glasgow in 2014
The curtain came down on the Gold Coast Games yesterday with Team Scotland having secured 44 medals, the nation’s highest at an overseas Games.
Marathon runner Robbie Simpson won bronze on the final day but his efforts were overshadowed by fellow Scot’s Callum Hawkins’ collapse while he was leading the race by two minutes with just a mile-and-a-half left (see story on page 45).
Scotland’s haul left them eighth in the final medals table, just nine short of the record 53 won on home soil at Glasgow in 2014.
Elsewhere on the final day, there was disappointment for the Scots in basketball, rugby sevens and squash.
Scotland, unranked in the world standings, contested the bronze medal match with New Zealand, but came up just short, losing 79-69.
The Scots had beaten England, Cameroon, India and Nigeria on their way to the semi-finals before running into the host nation, who ran out 103-46 winners on their way to gold.
Alan Clyne and Greg Lobban finished fourth men’s doubles squash tournament after losing 11-9 11-9 to England’s fourth seeds James Willstrop and Declan James yesterday.
English pair Daryl Selby and Adrian Waller had to settle for silver as they lost 11-9 3-11 11-6 to Australia’s Zac Alexander and David Palmer.
Team Scotland finished sixth in the rugby sevens.
Defeat by South Africa in their final group game on Saturday left them facing Wales yesterday in their opening game on day two of the event in the scramble for places five to eight.
Former Howe of Fife and Strathallan School pupil George Horne scored twice as the Scots won 19-12 to set up a play-off with the Australia for fifth place.
However, it was the hosts who came through to win 26-0.
England’s men and women picked up bronze medals in the rugby sevens, with the men coming from 14-0 down to beat South Africa 21-14 while the women held on to beat Canada 24-19.
England saved their best gold medal of the Gold Coast Games until last as they shocked hosts Australia 52-51 in the netball final.
Helen Housby netted in the final second for Tracey Neville’s team as they edged out the sport’s global superpowers after spending much of the fourth quarter playing catch-up.
That gold helped take England’s final tally to 136, with 45 gold, second in the table to Australia.
On Saturday, Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour matched her medal-winning feat from Glasgow, with bronze in badminton’s women’s singles.
Gilmour was in ferocious form to beat Michelle Li, the Canadian who beat her in the final in 2014, 21-11 21-16 to claim third place.
She said: “This is overwhelming – a combination of happiness and relief.
“It was difficult today, as my semi-final was so close and I fought so hard – I’ve never been in the position where I’ve had to go again. It was a big challenge, so to be standing here now as bronze medallist is amazing.
England’s Chris and Gabby Adcock, defended the title they won in Glasgow with victory over team-mates Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith in the mixed doubles final.
Ellis won gold in the men’s doubles final alongside Chris Langridge, seeing off Indian pair Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty 21-13 21-16.