Woods Triumphs Again in Para-Athletics
Melanie Woods of Scotland has once again claimed a gold medal in the T54 1500m para-athletics event. The final was re-run following appeals lodged after the initial race on Wednesday. Woods not only repeated her victory but also advanced to the 400m final scheduled for later.
The re-run of the T54 1500m race involved Nandini Sharma of Canada, who had been disqualified in the original event. Sharma has since qualified for the 400m final, finishing third in her heat, which was won by Mauritius’s Noemi Alphonse. Alphonse was involved in an incident with Sharma during the initial 1500m race.
Decathlon Drama and Cycling Progress
In the decathlon, defending champion Lindon Victor of Grenada experienced a setback when his best discus throw was disallowed due to an incorrect measurement. Despite this, Victor moved into the overall lead during the pole vault. He successfully cleared 4.70m, improving his position in the standings. Earlier, he had cleared 4.60m on his second attempt, taking the top spot from Damian Warner of Canada, who had withdrawn from the pole vault after failing at 4.50m.
England’s Sammy Ball also performed well in the pole vault, achieving a provisional silver medal position by clearing 4.60m on his second try. Other athletes, including Lewis Church, Jami Schlueter, and Max Attwell, also cleared 4.50m. Scotland’s Callum Newby was triumphant in the decathlon pole vault, clearing 5.00m and moving to fifth in the overall standings with two events remaining. Tejaswin Shankar of India, who was in second place overall, cleared 4.10m on his first attempt.
On the track cycling front, Emma Finucane of Wales continued her strong performance, advancing to the semi-finals of the women’s sprint with a dominant 2-0 victory over Ellesse Andrews of New Zealand. Finucane had previously set a new Games record. In another quarter-final, Sophie Capewell of England secured a 2-0 win against her teammate Katy Marchant, who had won gold with Capewell at the 2024 Olympics in the team sprint. Capewell will face Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri of Malaysia in the semi-finals.
Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri progressed after a thrilling decider against Rhianna Parris-Smith, coming back from 1-0 down to win 2-1. Wales’ Rhian Edmunds also moved into the semi-finals by defeating Scotland’s Lauren Bell 2-0. The semi-finals for the women’s sprint are scheduled for 16:25, with an all-Welsh showdown between Emma Finucane and Rhian Edmunds in the first heat.
Netball and Boxing Updates
In netball, Scotland finished in eighth place after a 54-47 loss to Malawi in their playoff game. Tonga secured ninth place by defeating Wales 63-53. Later fixtures include South Africa against Uganda for fifth place.
Boxing saw England’s Chantelle Reid secure a unanimous victory against Lekeisha Pergoliti in the women’s 70kg semi-finals, earning her a spot in the gold medal final against Arundhati Choudhary of India. Reid had returned to boxing in 2023 after a six-year absence due to a back problem. Rosie Eccles of Wales, a 2022 light middleweight gold medallist, had to settle for a bronze medal in the women’s 70kg category after losing to Arundhati Choudhary. Kaci Rock advanced to the final of the women’s 65kg division after beating Caitlin Ramsey. Michaela Walsh of Northern Ireland also reached the final in the women’s 57kg category with a 5-0 points win over Jasmine Daunakamakama.
In the men’s 4000m individual pursuit qualifying, Australia’s James Moriarty set a new Games record with a time of 4min 5.677sec. His teammate, Oliver Bleddyn, later broke this record, shaving another second and a half off the time to record 4min 4.132sec. England’s Charlie Tanfield also surpassed the previous record but not Bleddyn’s new one. There are reports of illness in the England camp, which may affect Josh Charlton’s chances in the medal races.
The decathlon continues with the javelin at 19:00 and the 1500m at 20:30 tonight.
Source: theguardian.com
Adam Rutherford is a Senior Football Correspondent at News-UK. He spent his early career filing match reports across the North West. He focuses on the Premier League, the EFL and the England national side and is known for clear, deadline-driven reporting. He holds a degree in Sports Journalism from Manchester Metropolitan University and completed an NCTJ diploma. Now based in Manchester, he coaches a youth team and watches grassroots football. “Every transfer window hides a dozen real stories.”
