Commonwealth Games Day 2: Archibald, Tanfield add gold medals

Australia continues to lead the standings on the track after a second day of racing on Friday, adding two gold medals to the three they have already won. Scotland and England got their first Commonwealth Games titles with wins in both the men's and women's individual pursuits.

Olympic and world champion Katie Archibald, who usually races under the Great Britain umbrella, had the chance to race the individual pursuit here in Scottish colours, and set a Games record in qualifying, knocking nearly five seconds off the previous record. In the final, she beat Australia's Rebecca Wiasak by nearly a second and a half, while Annette Edmondson (Australia) took bronze.

"I knew she [Wiasak] had gone out hard," said Archibald. "The crowd was going mental. That can only be bad news, really, as I'd rather be chased than chase. The last few metres were horrible. My splits were all over the place. "It feels good to have the two titles - Olympics and Commonwealth. It means a lot to me."

In the men's individual pursuit, Charlie Tanfield of England was equally dominant, shattering the old record and coming within less than a second of breaking the world record. He went up against Katie Archibald's brother, John, for the final, taking the gold medal by less than a second.

In the women's Sprint, it was Australia who was strongest, with Stephanie Morton, the defending champion, qualifying first in a Games Record time, and then marching straight through to the final, beating Natasha Hansen of New Zealand in two straight rides. Kaarle McCulloch of Australia beat Lauriane Genest of the Canada for the bronze. Morton's gold was the 100th Commonwealth Games gold Australia has won across all cycling disciplines.

"It is an honour to receive the 100th gold medal for Australia in cycling," said Morton. "This is testament to the great Australian cycling program. It took me by complete surprise when I beat Anna Meares in Glasgow (in the sprint at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games) - and now to be in the Anna Meares Velodrome is very special. Tonight was all adrenalin. The crowd was so loud, it was amazing. I have already done what I came to achieve so the rest is a bonus."

The final Games title of the day was awarded in the men's Keirin, and it was Australia's Matt Glaetzer who won gold, after moving to the front with a lap and a half to go, and holding off Lewis Oliva (Wales) and Edward Dawkins (New Zealand) for the title.

"The first ride was hectic," admitted Glaetzer. "I was getting bounced around and I was pushing back. There was a moment there where I was trying to stay upright. There was a lot of biff and barge going on and I had to give Eddy Dawkins a bit of a nudge on the way past."

Women's sprint qualifying 

In the first event of day 2, Australian Stephanie Morton set a new Commonwealth Games record in the Women's Sprint Qualifying. Morton, who won the team sprint with Kaarle McCulloch on day 1, set a blistering time of 10.524 seconds and send a warning to her rivals.

Lauriane Genest (Canada) had previously set the best time but had to settle for second place. Natasha Hansen (New Zealand) and McCulloch rounded out the top four with Olivia Podmore (New Zealand) the only other rider to go under the 11-second barrier.

The qualifying continues in the afternoon with finals in the evening.

Women's individual pursuit

Having watched Australian's Annette Edmondson then Rebecca Wiasak break the Commonwealth Games record in the individual pursuit, Katie Archibald set a new record with a time of 3:24.119 to set up a gold medal ride. The Scot will ride against Wiasak, a dual world champion in the discipline, in the gold medal final. The bronze medal final will be contested by Edmondson and fellow Australian Ashlee Ankudinoff.

Edmondson had set the new Commonwealth Games record with a time of 3:27.255 minutes with an early ride. The effort in winning the team pursuit the night before hardly showing. Wiasak's time of 3:25.936 minutes bumped Edmondson into second but it too would be broken before the end of qualification. 

Men's individual pursuit

The records continued to fall in the afternoon for the men's Individual pursuit. Australian Sam Welsford was first to break Jack Bobridge's record from 2010 with a time of 4:13.595 before Kiwi Dylan Kennett posted a 4:13.414. Dylan Archibald, who saw sister Katie top the women's IP qualifying, was next to take the record as he came in for a 4:13.068.

Former IP world champion Jordan Kerby (Australia) was a late starter and had he been among the first riders off, his 4:13.531 time would also have broken the record. The Queenslander though had to settle for fourth place and missed the gold medal ride.

The quickest time though would go to Charlie Tanfield (England) with the 21-year-old just one second shy of the world record with a 4:11.455 against Kelland O'Brien (Australia). Tanfield setting up the gold medal ride against Archibald. Despite breaking the Commonwealth Games record, Welsford missed the medals entirely and had to settle for fifth place.

Women's Sprint Qualifying

Women's Individual pursuit