The track came alive at the Carrara stadium here on Sunday but on an unimpressive note, as the men’s 5000m final could produce only the slowest timing in Commonwealth Games history.
It was decisive win for the former world 10000m junior champion Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) as he outran Mohammed Ahmed (Canada) leading into the final lap. But what astounded pundits was the slow manner in which the race went through and finished with a time of 13:50.83 for the winner.
Ahmed crossed the finish line in 13:52.78. The bronze medal went to 16-year-old Edward Pingua Zakayo (Kenya) at 13:54.06.
Miller wins gold
Earlier in the day, Nick Miller (England) upgraded his silver medal from Glasgow 2014 — he took the hammer throw gold with a Games and National record of 80.26m. Matty Denny (Aus) took silver with a personal best of 74.88, leaving Mark Dry (Scotland) third with an effort of 73.12m.
The men’s 20km walk, which kicked off the programme, saw Australian Dane Bird-Smith emerging the winner with a time of 1:19.34, ahead of England’s Tom Bosworth (1:19.38) and Kenya’s Samuel Ireri Gathimba (1:19.51).
The corresponding event in the women’s section was won by Jemima Motang, who completed a walking double for Australia, registering a time of 1:32.50. Alana Barber (New Zealand) took silver (1:34.18) leaving Bethan Davies (Wales) with the bronze (1:36.08).
Indians disappoint
The Indian athletes in the fray — in both the walking events — disappointed. Manish Singh, who finished fifth in the men’s event, was disqualified for unsporting conduct while K. T. Irfan was far off his personal best as he wound up 13th with a poor timing of 1:27.34. In the women’s section, Soumya Baby also found herself in those disqualified while Kushbir Kaur came in fourth in 1:39.21.
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The only saving grace was Tejinder Singh’s entry into the final of the men’s shot. He registered a throw of 19.10m. Muhammed Anas Yahiya (45.98s) registered a win to gain a place in the 400m semifinal.
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