Commonwealth Games: Rowsell, Bobridge win pursuits

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Day two of the Commonwealth Games was a day of doubles, as Jack Bobridge (Australia) and Sam Webster (New Zealand) took their second gold medals in as many days.

Webster became New Zealand’s first gold medallist in the team sprint, since the inception of the games in 1930. The team sprint world champion did it alone this time, tacking on the might of Jason Kenny (England) over three rounds. The Kiwi proved too strong for Kenny in the first race, catching him off guard and winning by a clear margin. Kenny struck back in the second. However, Webster was too strong again in the final round, holding off a late charge to take the gold.

Race favourite Matthew Glaetzer (Australia) failed to make the medals, after he was beaten by Kenny in the quarter finals. It is the first event on the track that Australia has failed to get a rider in the medals with New Zealand’s Edward Dawkins taking the bronze.

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Bobridge was the first of the track cyclists to double up as he took gold in the individual pursuit. The Australian set his stall out in the morning session, beating the rest of the starters by more than a second. His teammate and close friend Alex Edmondson to set up an all Australian final.

Edmondson came out of the traps quickly, possibly too quickly, going two tenths quicker than Bobridge over the first 1000 metres. Bobridge, the more experienced of the two, didn’t panic and brought that gap back and more at the half way mark. The efforts of the opening laps took their toll on Edmondson, who continued to bleed time to his teammate. Bobridge crossed the line in time of 4:19.650, just four tenths slower than he did in the warmer morning session.

Alex wasn’t the only Edmondson out on track. His sister Annette Edmondson also made it into the gold medal round of the women’s individual pursuit. She faced Joanna Rowsell in the final, after the English rider smashed the Commonwealth Games record in the qualifiers. Like her brother, Edmondson had a fast start. However, she was no match for Rowsell once she got into her stride.

The reigning world champion had close the time she had lost by the end of the fourth lap and set about homing in on her rival. She blamed the cooler the cooler air on her slower time, but still put almost four seconds into the Australian by the finish. Rowsell was all smiles as she spoke to the media after receiving her medal, saying that the Commonwealth Games was like the Olympics for the individual pursuit - after the event was taken out of the Olympic programme in 2008.

Home nation Scotland finally got their first medal on the track. Neil Fachie and Craig MacLean beat the Australian duo Kieran Modra and Jason Niblett in the men’s tandem time trial. It was a new event to the games, but attracted a strong field nonetheless. Fachie is the reigning Paralympic champion, while Maclean helped Anthony Kappes to win gold in London in the sprint. The duo were last to go in the event and the crowd erupted as they posted the fastest time of 1.02.098. The pair will be looking for gold again in the sprint event on Saturday.

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