ALL THE NEWS, ACTION AND REACTION LIVE FROM GLASGOW 2014 AS IT HAPPENS!

By Paul Osborne and Nick Butler in Glasgow
Click refresh for latest updates. All times stated are British

NEWS OF THE DAY: SECOND WELSH ATHLETE TO MISS GLASGOW 2014 AFTER FAILING DRUGS TEST (Scroll down to 10:52, 11:32 and 15:42 for more

Good night!

22:30 And on that happy note it's time to say good night from the team here in Glasgow.

We will see you tomorrow for another exciting day of action..

The Earl of Wessex, Vice-Patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation, who we showed earlier at 19:54 at Tollcross International Swimming Centre, has been sharing with us his expert analysis of tonight's events. "It's a bit wet and a bit warm," was his verdict. Couldn't have put it better myself Sir.

22:27 Coming up tomorrow, we have many more medals to be won, in cycling, swimming, shooting, weightlifting, judo and rhythmic gymnastics. And also in lawn bowls for the first time, and in the triathlon relay event.

Rugby Sevens action is also starting tomorrow, at Ibrox Stadium, the home of Glasgow Rangers, the bitter rivals of Glasgow Celtic, who play at Celtic Park, where the Opening Ceremony took place. 

22:25 The last action of the day is now finishing, in badminton and squash, where James Willstrop has completed a convincing 3-0 victory against New Zealand's Martin Knight to move into the quarter-finals of the men's singles.

Please checkout our insidethegames picture gallery for more snaps of everything that is going on here in Glasgow.

Has Clyde been arrested? Of course not! Everyone wants their picture taken
with the friendly thistle...



More hockey misery for Trinidad and Tobago

10:18 Having lost 16-0 to South Africa yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago's women's hockey team suffered another thrashing tonight when they were beaten 14-0 by New Zealand. But, they are refusing to give up hope. "We will continue to improve and hopefully we manage to catch some team off-guard," said goalkeeper Petal Derry. That's the spirit.

Reminds reporter Nick Butler of his goalkeeping days for the Woodchester School under 11's team. A 14-0 loss in those days was regarded as a good result.

Jamaican celebs at the netball

10:15 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jason Morgan and Veronica Campbell-Brown showing support for Sunshine Girls during Jamaica's clash against Northern Ireland. Jamaica ended up winning that one, 65-34.

"That was absolutely incredible," said player Romelda Aiken of the team's famous supporters. "We could really hear them in the crowd. It shows that they really support netball, and want us to get a medal."

Remember, the President of the International Netball Federation, Molly Rhone, is also a Jamaican.



Scotland still doing well in the pool

10:04 Daniel Wallace won Scotland's third gold medal in swimming when taking 400m individual medley glory earlier on. Melbourne 2006 was the only Games with more gold medals for Scotland in swimming, when they won six. Eight years ago, David Carry won this event for Scotland as well.

"I was very close to not making the team, I think I chose the right way. There came a time when I had to consider what path to take. I have definitely turned my life around. I am a professional athlete and it has paid off today. I was trying to live the life of a rock star and still perform in the pool. But you can't do both. You have to set a good example."
- Daniel Wallace speaks in refreshingly honest tones after winning the 400m individual medley.

21:58 We are going to wrap up for the day fairly soon on the insidethegames live blog, but time first for a round-up of what has been going on elsewhere.

So that's it for the second night of pool action here at the Tollcross Centre. While it did not quite match up to the vociferous nature of last night the crowd still had another Commonwealth Games champion to celebrate in Daniel Wallace. Canada took its second gold of the Games with Katerine Savard while England got off the mark with Daniel Proud and Chris Walker-Hebborn. But once again, there was one team out in front and that was Australia. The Aussies claimed four more gold medals - as well as another world record for Maddison Elliott - to leave them with seven in total after two days in the pool. By the looks of things that total will be added to handsomely over the coming days.
- Reporter Gary Anderson with a final update from the second day of swimming action.


21:55 But it was England's day overall, with two golds in the pool, three on the judo mat, and one in the Velodrome.

This puts them firmly in front on the insidethegames medals table, with 12 gold medals in comparison with 10 for Australia and seven for Scotland. Canada, India and New Zealand occupy the next three places, with Cyprus, Nigeria and Singapore having all won their first gold of the Games today.

21:50 So that is all the gold medal action for tonight. It was Australia's evening in the pool, with four more gold medals, along with some more success in the Velodrome and a splattering of medals elsewhere.

21:45 Australia end as they start with another gold medal! The quartet of Tommasso D'Orsogna, Matt Abood, James Magnussen and Cameron McEvoy followed the lead of their female counterparts by taking gold in the 4x100m freestyle.

While the women achieved a world record the men had to settle for a new Games record of 3:13:44. South Africa took silver and England continued a fine night by claiming bronze.

21:36 More on the news we brought you at 15:54 that Australian lifter Erika Ropati-Frost was competing just three months after her husband, Tufale, was diagnosed with cancer. 

"Getting on the podium would have been great but today it was all about doing the best I could do and making my husband proud. Six out of six is all we can give really in weightlifting. He'll be proud. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for his support. Even before we found out about his cancer, he always supported me." - -- Australian lifter Erika Ropati-Frost after finishing fifth in the women's under 53kg weightlifting earlier.



21:32 The medals are coming thick and fast here now at the Tollcross Centre as Canada's Katerine Savard is the lastest to be crowned Commonwealth Games champion.

She has done it in style too with a Games record of 57:40 to finish just ahead of England's Siobhan- Marie O'Connor and Emma McKeon of Australia in the 100m butterfly.

First gold medal for Cyprus!

21:24 That is a first gold medal for Cyprus and a first medal of any colour for Sri Lanka and Samoa - these weightlifting event are great because different countries win all the medals.

21:22 But alas, he cannot, and gold goes to Dimitris Minasidis of Cyprus! Silver goes to Sudesh Peiris fo Sri Lanka, while Ioane of Samoa has to be content with bronze.

21:19 So...final stages of the weightlifting. The Cypriot still leads, but can Vaipaua Ioane of Samoa overhaul him. The Pacific Islander has one attempt left at 160kg.

21:18 That result heralds a changing of the guard in the English backstroking fraternity that has been on the cards for a while. Tancock won this gold medal at Melbourne 2006 but only a bronze on this occasion at the grand old age of 29.

21:15 Chris Walker- Hebborn sets a Commonwealth Games record of 53:12 on his way to victory in the men's 100m backstroke. Australian Mitch Larkin is second while Walker-Hebborn's team mate Liam Tancock takes bronze.

21:10 Action is hotting up in the second weightlifting final of the day. Current leader deep into the clean and jerk is Dimiris Minasidis, of Cyprus. He has lifted a grand old total of 276kg.

My selfie is better than yours

20:59 Australian hockey Jayde Taylor, whose "selfie" of herself and teammate Brooke Peris yesterday was photo-bombed by the Queen, is clearly enjoying her new found celebrity after her image posted on Twitter went viral.

But she has admitted it was not quite as random as it first appeared. "We knew what area she [the Queen] was leaving," admitted Taylor after her side's 9-0 victory over Wales today. "So I said, 'If we stand over here and face this way, we'll be able to see her pass behind us and I'm glad the picture turned out the way it did'."

Taylor has also thrown down a challenge to American funnywoman Ellen DeGeneres, who sent the Twittersphere aflutter with her star-studded selfie at the Oscars earlier this year. "We're still waiting for Ellen to reply to our tweet about how our selfie is better than hers," said Taylor.

We have put the two selfies side-by-side for you make up your own mind. What do you think?



World record and gold for Maddison Elliott!

20:50 Normal service is resumed here after that brief Scottish intrusion as Australia's Maddison Elliott takes three tenths off American Jessica Long's world record in the women's Para-sport 100m freestyle S8.

Elliott finished ahead of England's Stephanie Slater and another Australian Lakeisha Patterson, with a time of 1:05:32.


20:35 The Saltires are flying again as Wallace takes gold for Scotland!
It did sound a bit quiet in here at the Tollcross Centre but that has certainly changed now as Daniel Wallace storms to victory in the 400m individual medley. 

The Scot looked well behind South Africa's Sebastien Rousseau throughout but on the final 100m freestyle he turned on the afterburners to surge passed the South African and send this place wild. Rousseau spent all his ebergy in the first 300m and had to settle for bronze as Thomas Fraser-Pryce touched home for silver.

Some reaction to one of three English judo golds tonight

"Everything I do now, he taught me, so I will always be grateful to him, and hopefully he would be proud. I saw Ben after the semi-final and we had a little bit of an emotional moment. It was so disappointing for us as a family to be so close to coming here and Ben could have won it, but he is such a strong-minded person that I know in the future he will be one to watch."
- Judoka Megan Fletcher speaks about the influence of her brother Ben, who was ruled out through injury.

20:10 While Advance Australia Fair rings out across the Tollcross Centre again during the medal ceremony for the men's 200m, Australia is already making a big dent into its gold medal haul of 22 at Delhi 2010. But it's worth noting that it has been a rather chaotic few years in Australian swimming since then. The team put in the country's worst performance at an Olympic Games since Barcelona 1992, when they returned home with only one gold medal from London 2012. That was compounded by a review which found that a "culturally toxic" environment existed among the team with claims of alcohol and drug abuse being rife.

Only three medals were won at the World Championships in Barcelona last year. As a result of the debacle at London 2012, governing body Swimming Australia underwent a raft of changes to key personnel which has seen the appointments of former British head of swimming Michael Scott as their new high performance director and Dutchman Jacco Verhaeren as the country's new head coach. Former Hockey Australia boss Mark Anderson replaced Kevin Neil as the governing body's chief executive in April last year, while John Bertrand replaced Barclay Nettlefold last August after the former President allegedly made lewd comments to female colleagues. The changes appear to be yielding results so far.
- Reporter Gary Anderson on a renaissence, of sorts, for the Australian swimming team.

20:08 So, all over now in the judo. We still have medal action to come tonight though, in swimming mostly, and also in weightlifting.

20:04 A welcome first glimpse of the day of insidethegames Olympic and Commonwealth Games historian Philip Barker. He is belting out the bars of Land of Hope and Glory, the English National Anthem, as Owen Livesey receives his gold medal. He is also remarking about the sticky heat throughout the judo arena. "It's getting hot in here," he says. "They should put that Nelly song on." It seems even popular culture has not escaped his encyclopedic knowledge bank...

Fog in the sun

19:59 Hard to believe sat here in sweltering Glasgow but an event at these Games has just been hit by fog! It has happened at the Queen's prize full bore shooting pair at Carnoustie. England's Parag Patel David Luckman were leading the way in the qualifying competition before the fog intervened and they have had to abandon the rest of today's competition.

For those readers who don't know Carnoustie is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast about 89 miles (or 143 kilometres) away.

Royals at the pool

19:54 Prince Edward and wife Sophie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex pop in to see some action in the pool.



19:50 It's fair to say the re-introduction of judo events onto the programme for the first time since Manchester 2002 has helped England with their medal charge. Golds for Livesey, Fletcher and Williams have put them three gongs clear of Australia on the medals table.

19:47 Gold for Owen Livesey in the all-English last judo final of the evening! He beats compatriot Tom Reed by virtue of having garnered fewer penalties in a 0-0 draw.

Boas Munyonga of Zambia and Jonah Burt of Canada took the two bronze medals.

Gold in the pool for...yes you guessed it Australia!

19:43 The Aussie machine has not taken long to kick into gear here tonight as Thomas Fraser-Holmes adds to Leiston Pickett's gold by powering to victory over compatriot Cameron McEvoy in the 200m freestyle.

The 22-year-old from New South Wales touched home in 1:45:08 to make it five swimming golds for Australia in the pool so far at these Games. Calum Jarvis has brought some much needed good news for Wales as he claimed the bronze.

19:38 Another judo final now in the under 81kg, the last of the day in the SECC Precinct. It's an all-English affair between Tom Reed and Owen Livesey.

Bizarre birthday double in the squash

19:33 You may remember earlier (14:42) that we told you about the crowd at Scotscoun Sports Complex singing happy birthday to Scotland's Alan Clyne and England's Nick Matthew, who turn 28 and 34 today respectively, before their last 16 tie.
It was number one seed Matthew who had most reason to celebrate - beating the ninth seeded Clyne 11-4, 11-4, 11-8. "It was a good birthday," said Matthew. "How bizarre is that both of us were born on the same day and we play each other in the Commonwealth Games on our birthday. That is just freaky to be honest. I had forgotten we were born on the same day and then I realised. It just blew me away."

Trying to think of a squash terminology pun along the lines of, they wouldn't have needed a tin to put the birthday cake in - but it's not coming. I think I should stick to the sport.

More golds for England, Scotland and Australia

19:26 As if we needed more Scottish excitement, not to mention Welsh misery, we've just had a shock result filtering through from the neighbouring arena in the SECC Precinct. Teenager Reece McFadden has beaten Andrew Selby of Wales in the 52kg boxing.

Selby was only belatedly allowed to compete for Wales after being initially ruled out after signing a contract to compete in the inaugural International Boxing Association (AIBA) Pro Boxing competition. All of that stress may have affected him

Not to mention the raucous, partisan support.

The Australians are off and running too!

19:20 Defending champion Leiston Pickett of Australia holds on to her 50m breaststroke title with an impressive display but the biggest cheer went to Scotland's Corrie Scott who touched home in third behind Jamaica's Alia Atkinson.

Swimming and judo finals

19:16 What a few minutes for England, they've won another gold, as Megan Fletcher dispatches De Villiers of New Zealand on to her back for an ippon.

She didn't seem to have realised she had won for a while, until it was announced officially, but a superb English double from two of the younger members of the squad today.

19:14 Le Clos is more of a specialist in the longer events, but it is still a shock that Proud beat him today Le Clos e is probably the only sportsman less famous than a father who is known purely for being his father. That's Bert Le Clos of course, who gave such a memorable interview after his son beat Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly final at London 2012. 

19:12 Gold for England and they will be proud! After failing to register a win last night, England have got off the mark in the first race as Benjamin Proud beats South Africa's Roland Schoeman and London 2012 gold medal winner Chad le Clos to the men's 50m butterfly title in a Games record of 22:93.

19:10 Now it is Megan Fletcher of England up in the final, she is up against Moira De Villiers of New Zealand. 

19:05 Alix Renaud-Roy of Canada and Sally Conway of Scotland, cue more cheers, win the two bronze medals in the 70kg judo, over Australian and Indian opponents respectively. Remember, the two semi-final losers play the two winners of the repechage competition for athletes who have lost at an earlier stage, for those two third place finishes. 

19:00 There are eight sets of medals up for grabs tonight in the pool in five men's and three women's events. The men will be competing in the 50m butterfly, 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle, 400m individual medley and 4x100m freestyle.

Can the Australian men match their female counterparts who smashed The Netherlands' five-year-old 4x100m freestyle world record last night?

Two of that team are going head-to-head in the final of the women's 100m butterfly this evening in the form of Alicia Coutts and Emma McKeon who also took gold in the 200m freestyle last night. The women's 50m breaststroke and the Para-sport 100m freestyle S8 is also down for decision.

The tension and excitement is building nicely here in the Tollcross International Swimming Centre as the second night of finals are due to get underway shortly. Last night was a raucous affair as the Scots went wet and wild after watching two of their home grown stars claim Commonwealth Games gold in the form of Hannah Miley and 20-year-old Ross Murdoch, whose face was a picture when he realised what he had done. No doubt the Tartan Army streaming into the arena this evening will be hoping for more of the same. But will they get it?
- Gary Anderson is at the swimming in anticipation of more Scottish gold.

Judo golds for England and Scotland





17:52 Gosh, its host stuff here in the judo arena after a frantic start in terms of the medals. But now it is a first opportunity, for me at least, to see a Scottish gold medal be presented. Stirring stuff as Flower of Scotland is belted around the arena.

"That is what I came here to do and I have come out with the result I wanted and came to get. Today I feel like I have done it because of the crowd. My family, friends have come to see me, it is for them and for Scotland. My motivation was always there and to keep the momentum going for Scottish judo is fantastic. This will be my last competitive tournament for sure."
-Sarah Clark tells the BBC about a job well done in the 63kg competition

18:44 And then it is another English gold as Matthew Williams maintains his lead to win the under 73kg judo gold medal over Adrian Leat.

Jake Benstead of Australia and Jacques Van Zyl of South Africa secured the two bronze medals.

18:41 An early waza-ari for the Englishman, who leads 10-0

18:39 Next up it is Danny Williams of England up against Adrian Leat of New Zealand. Williams was not even meant to compete here, but was a late replacement due to an injury to Ben Fletcher.

18:35 And we're straight on in to a second final here. The excitement of yesterday being replicated effortlessly here, in an arena which appears several degrees hotter, in temperature and atmosphere from the weightlifting one.

18:30 A few moments ago the roof was nearly lifted of the SECC Precinct again as Sarah Clark of Scotland won the under 63kg judo final! She beat Helene Wezeu Dombeu of Cameroon in the final.

Faith Brown and 19-year-old Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown of England take the two bronze medals.

Scottish success on the track



18:34 A bit of reaction from Scotland's Neil Fachie after his win in the Para-sport 1000m time trial tandem today.

"That was the hardest race of my life," he said. "Thanks to all you guys we managed to hang on and take the win. It was all you guys.

18:25 Away from the track, Canada's Patricia Bezzoubenko has won the gold medal in the individual all-around rhythmic gymnastics at The Hydro with Wales' Francesca Jones and Laura Halford taking silver and bronze respectively. 

Bezzoubenko won with 59.175 points. Jones scored 57.350 and Halford 56.225.

Bezzoubenko is a 17-year-old who holds dual Canadian and Russian nationality. I

It is her second gold medal of these Games having been a member of the Canadian squad that won the team event last night. She is the seventh athlete to win multiple golds in rhythmic gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games and the fourth from Canada after Mary Fuzesi, Erika-Leigh Stirton and Alexandra Orlando.

Cycling and weightlifting medals action

18:14 As the men's sprint medal ceremony gets underway here at the Velodrome, with Sir Chris Hoy handing out the medal incidentally, I think a little round up of all the medal action on the track is in order. 

The men's Para-sport 1000m time trial B tandem saw Scotland's very own Neil Fachie take gold with Australia's Kieran Modra in second and Welshman Matthew Ellis in third.

The women's 3000m individual pursuit gold went to England's Joanna Rowsell with silver and bronze landing at the feet of Aussies Annette Edmondson and Amy Cure.

The men's 4000m individual pursuit brought gold medal glory for Australia's Jack Bobridge, whilst team mate Alex Edmondson took silver and New Zealander Marc Ryan secured the bronze.

And finally, Sam Webster took gold in the men's sprint ahead of England's Jason Kenny and Kiwi Edward Dawkins.

Phew! What an evening!

18:10 On that note, and after a frantic couple of medal-strews hours, I am going to nip across from the Clyde Auditorium weightlifting venue to the SECC Precinct for the judo. I will leave you in the capable hands of Paul Osborne for a few minutes, if he can still type after all the cycling excitement, that is.

Two days and already three sets of siblings won medals on same day in same sport. Unprecedented in any major multi-sport Games?
- Editor Duncan Mackay reflects on an amazing two days for siblings - the Brownlee's for England in triathlon, the Renicks for Scotland in judo and now the Edmondson's for Australia  in cycling... 



18:02 - Gold goes to Webster of New Zealand as he wins the decider over the English Olympic champion!

He took the race right to the Englishman and built a lead that even the great Jason Kenny could not bridge. Top stuff.

18:00 The tension builds again as Jason Kenny and Sam Webster take to the track for the final race of the men's sprint.

That's a second gold of the Games for Bobridge after he pedalled to victory alongside Edmondson and, Glenn O'Shea and Luke Davison in the men's 4000m team pursuit.

17:58 And unfortunately for the Edmondson family its another silver as defending champion Bobridge storms to victory in 4:19.650.

17:56 Now for the gold medal final and its an all Aussie affair with Jack Bobridge up against Alex Edmondson. Alex is brother to Annette Edmondson who took silver in the women's individual pursuit earlier today.

Interestingly, the two Edmondson's became the first Aussie brother and sister to compete at an Olympics when they took to the track at London 2012.

17:54 We will bring you more reaction to that, but back in the Velodrome, in the interlude before the sprinting finale, it's time for the men's 4,000m individual bronze medal encounter. Here we have Welsh rider Owain Doull up against New Zealand's Marc Ryan. 4,000m. That's 16 laps of the track. I'm surprised these guys don't get dizzy...

It's third place and the bronze medal for Ryan as he finishes more than two seconds ahead in 4:23.559.

17:52 Toua steps up. She has to lift this to win gold. 115kg. She completes the snatch, pauses, and drops the weight! Gold for Nigeria!! Amalaha is our champion

Those were Commonwealth Games records in the snatch, clean and jerk and, by definition, overall for the 16-year-old. Dika Toua of Papua New Guinea takes silver in front of the Pacific nation's Sports Minister, while Santoshi Matsa of India claims bronze.

17:50 She's got it. 111kg for a 196kg total! Chika Amalaha leads with one lift left!

17:49 Dika Toua steps up, sighs, rubs the towel, and lifts 111kg. Another Commonwealth record. What has the 16-year-old got? 

17:47 But the 16-year-old Nigerian Chika Amalaha has done it again. She lifts 107kg to take the overall lead with one attempt to come.

17:46 Commonwealth Games records are being obliterated in the Armadillo. Dika Toua enters the competition and clean and jerks her way to 106kg. But Santoshi Matsa with 105kg stays ahead thanks to her snatch effort.

17:44 A huge win in the gold medal race as Jason Kenny throws his bike forward to level the tie at one apiece. Breathtaking stuff!

17:41 Back to to the men's sprint and its race two between Peter Lewis and Edward Dawkins. A slight barb at the New Zealander by the announcer as he calls him the "biggest" rider here at the Games. He seems unfazed, however, as he takes a second win and the bronze

Bindra will not compete at another Commonwealth Games. 

"This is my last Commonwealth Games. Five CWG and nine medals, it is enough for me."
- Abhinav Bindra has declared enough is enough after his 10m air rifle shooting title earlier. He is 29 at the moment. 

17:37 Somewhat ominously I feel, Dika Toua of Papua New Guinea, the gold medal favourite who only placed fourth in the snatch, is yet to begin.

17:35 IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell is in the Armadillo for the weightlifting. He watches Singh try and steal the lead with 103kg. She completes the clean, waits, waits and waits some more. Then she jerks and just when you thought she had done it, the red light flashes and the lift is ruled illegal. 

17:33 Swati Singh is the first lifter to break the 100kg barrier, but then, after much debate by the officials, compatriot Santoshi Matsa lifts 102kg, as does Nigerian Chika Amalaha with the very next attempt. 

17:29 A break in the cycling for the medal ceremony and we are going to use the interlude to provide that much promised focus on the weightlifting. And, about time, it is getting to the business end of the concluding clean and jerk segment. 

Remember, the clean and jerk consists of two movement. In the clean, the lifter moves the weighted barbell from the floor to a racked position across their deltoids and clavicles. The jerk portion then involves lifting the weight above the head until the arms are straight and the bar is stationary.

So they are capable of lifting much heavier weights than in the snatch.

Rowsell collects her gold medal

17:23 We didn't have time to dwell on it for long earlier, but a superb win for Joanna Rowsell in the individual pursuit. She won her first title in this event, which is sadly no longer on the Olympic programme earlier this year Cali, and also has four world titles in the team event, along with that London 2012 triumph. 

My gb team mates are all stressing me out.. Next up @JoannaRowsell come on girl!! #itswhatudobest
- Double Olympic champion Laura Trott roars on her team mate. 



17:20 Webster continues where he left off in the semi-final and flies to victory in this best of three competition.

17:17 Now on track is Australia's Peter Lewis and New Zealand's Edward Dawkins for men's sprint bronze. The Kiwi takes the first race in emphatic style before the pair make way for England's Jason Kenny and New Zealand's Sam Webster. This one's for gold!

17:14 They certainly don't hang about in the Velodrome. We're onto the sprint medal races already. But we will try and focus on the weightlifting finale in a while. The atmosphere is really building in the Armadillo.

All the realistic medal contenders are still to come, with Phillipa Hale of New Zealand the current leader with a grand total of 174kg.

17:12 Both England and Australia are now on 19 medals, but England nudge ahead by one gold thanks to Rowsell. See the latest haul here. 

17:11 And that's that! A great time of 3:31.615 see's England's Rowsell take home the gold!

Edmondson finishes a little shy of four seconds behind as she picks up the silver. Amy Cure with the bronze.

17:10 Rowsell's looking really strong over in the individual pursuit as she moves a second a half ahead. Crowd are cheering her home.

17:09 Back to that in a sec, but the clean and jerk competition is underway in the Armadillo. "Snatch is for show and jerk is for dough," shouts the announcer. 

It's all to play for, with at least four lifters well and truly in the hunt.

17:08 Slowish start for Rowsell but she's moved almost half a second up as we creep past the halfway mark 

17:06 Next up its England's Joanna Rowsell and Australia's Annette Edmondson for gold. It's not surprising to see riders from these two nation's battling for top honours.

Billy Connolly is among those enjoying action in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.



17:05 It's not enough, however, as Cure takes the bronze with a time of 3:35.384.

17:03 With hardly a second to breathe it's straight back into the medal races. We've got the women's 3000m individual pursuit finals first and its Australia's Amy Cure battling Scotland's Katie Archibald for the bronze. The Scot sets off a Mexican wave of cheers as the crowd urge Archibald each time she rides past their section of the track.

17:01 We had an entertaining "name as many Commonwealth members in 30 seconds" competition at "half-time" in the weightlifting." A man in the audience against Sir Chris Hoy, via video-link. Hold on, Sir Chris has only gone and forgotten Scotland. He is beaten by the audience member, who quips "Can I have a Velodrome named after me now?" 

16:58 Flower of Scotland has just pumped around the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, and then it's the business end of the men's sprint semi final and its Jason Kenny and Peter Lewis back on track. Lewis' head hangs in disappointment as Kenny pumps his first in celebration. Yes, that can only mean a win for the English rider. He's gone for the early move from high on the track and soared past the helpless Aussie. Great racing by Kenny. He's turned that semi-final around brilliantly.

And so he should I guess. He is, after all, a triple Olympic champion who won this very event at London 2012. 

16:55 Apologies for the lack of weightlifting coverage for the last while, there has been so much going on elsewhere. But the snatch competition has now concluded. And it was a thrilling finale.

Gold medal favourite Dika Toua, who incidentally was the first woman to ever step onto an Olympic weightlifting platform when she competed in the 48kg division at Sydney 2000, lifted 82kg. But that was only good enough for fourth place.

Two Indians - in Swati Singh and Santoshi Matsa each lifted 83kg, with Matsa second courtesy of her lighter bodyweight. But our leader at the halfway point is Chika Amalaha of Nigeria. The 16-year-old, yes that is 16 I said, lifted 85kg.  

She would show a few male gym-rats twice her age a thing or two about lifting, no doubt.

Coles on target for shooting gold.

16:50 That is followed by Australia's Laura Coles beating Elena Allen of Wales to win the women's skeet gold, scoring 14-16 to Allen's 13-16. It is disappointing for Allen but some consolation for Wales on what has been a torrid day.

16:47 At the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre, Andri Eleftheriou of Cyprus has just beaten England's Sarah Gray to win the bronze in the women's skeet.

We've got The Proclaimers blasting out here in the Velodrome. Words are on the big screen and the fans are joining in the sing-song. DA DA DA DA (DA DA DA DA)!! You just can;t help but get caught up in this kind of atmosphere.The pipers are a-piping and the crowds are a-cheering. It's medal ceremony time inside the Velodrome.
- Reporter Paul Osborne is loving life at his first Commonwealth Games.

16:46 Back to the men's sprint and England's Jason Kenny levels it at one apiece with a tight second race against Aussies Peter Lewis. A complete contrast to the other semi final match-up where Sam Webster breezes past New Zealand compatriot Edward Dawkins to book his spot in the gold-medal final "There's nothing easier than an easy victroy" comes the call of the announcer.

Gold for Neil Fachie and Craig Maclean of Scotland



Usain Bolt to speak to the press

"The MPC has just been whipped up into a frenzy with the news that the "Great One", Usain Bolt, will be holding a press conference here tomorrow at 2.30pm."
- Hot off the press...for the press...from insidethegames editor Duncan Mackay.


After the withdrawal of so many big names, including Mo Farah and Yohan Blake, the presence of the six-time Olympic champion is a major boost for Glasgow 2014. And how many times have we said that the presence of Bolt has boosted an athletics competition in recent times...

16:38 So that brilliant gold for Scotland is their fifth of the Games. Australian silver keeps them in second, ahead of the host nation, in second, while a poor day for Wales gets a little better with bronze.

16:33 They've done it!! Absolutely mad scenes! The crowd urged the pair around all 1,000m metres of that race and they finish in 1:02.096. The Scottish flag is out, Calvin Harris on the speakers. Party Scenes at the Velodrome. Fachie will certainly be drinking from the bottle this evening!

16:30 Huge cheers here as world record holder, Paralympic champion and world champion Neil Fachie takes to the track with pilot Craig Maclean. Can they bring home more gold for the hosts?

16:29 Guess who is presenting the medals for the men's 62kg weightlifting competition later on, I have just spotted? It's only Commonwealth Games Federation President Prince Imran

After his performance opening the Queen's Baton in the Opening Ceremony, he will be there to get some tips on grip and strength technique.



16:26 It certainly won't be gold for the Welsh pair as Australia's Kieran Modra and Jason Niblett smash their time by 1.851 seconds to go top.

16:23 The medal finals are underway at the Velodrome and first up is the men's 1,000m time trial B tandem event. One racer and his partner take to the track at a time in this event and its a simple race against the clock.

First up was Welsh rider Matthew Ellis with partner Ieuan Williams and a remarkable starts sees them set a new Commonwealth Games record of 1:04.095. The Welsh pairing of Ellis and Williams are guaranteed at least bronze here in the final as Northern Ireland's James Brown and Dave Readle record 1:09.413 for third with 2014 World Championship bronze medallists Paul Kennedy and Thomas Clarke in second with 1:05.261. Just two more tandems to go.

"After a tour around Glasgow I've finally made it to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. The place is jammed packed with fans and media alike as we await the finals of the men's Para-sport 1000m time trial B tandem, 4000m team pursuit and sprint, and the women's 3000m individual pursuit. Before all that it's the men;'s sprint semi's as London 2012 Olympic champion Jason Kenny loses race one to Aussie Peter Lewis."
- Reporter Paul Osborne has finally made it.

16:17 Socheata Be of Australia takes the lead with 77kg, or does she? The judges rule it is an illegal left, but after a lengthy debate, it is reinstated. But then Jessica Ruel lifts 78kg.

16:10 Another valiant lift from Erika Ropati-Frost. She leads with 76kg ahead of compatriot Socheata Be. Incidentally, there are not competitors from anywhere in the British Isles in this competition - we won't be saying that often at Glasgow 2014. 

Maybe a first for Commonwealth Games transport but the assistant driver on the bus just stopped and asked a local for directions to the Velodrome....
- Reporter Paul Osborne having problems on his trip to the cycling



16:04 Action is hotting up now in the weightlifting, and their are some squeamish noises from the journalist next to me as several lifters fail at 70 something kg attempts.

Each competitor will have three attempts at the snatch, so the gamble is: do you go for a more comfortable, but lower, weight to get a score on the board. Or do you go all out?

That also explains why favourite Dika Toua of Papua New Guinea is yet to make an attempt. She is entering at 79kg.

Shooting changes helping Singapore

Singapore shooting team manager Ng Jing Hui claimed the victory had come about because of recent changes in made to the scoring system in shooting. "It was anybody's game to win and Shun Xie grabbed the chance with both hands," he said. "She was simply marvelous, especially on her final six shots. She worked so hard and now, she has brought glory to Singapore."



15:54 A National Record for Ghana in the weightlifting, as Ruth Baffoe successfully completed a 68kg snatch. "Well, aren't you go to give her a cheer," shouts the announcer at a crowd who still seem a little unsure about when they are allowed to be vocal.

The snatch is the first of the two lifts all of the athletes will perform today. The essence of it is to lift a barbell from the platform to locked arms overhead in a smooth continuous movement. 

Perfectly demonstrated there by Erika Ropati-Frost of Australia. I have just been told that Ropati-Frost' is competing at her third Games here just three months after discovering her husband, Tuvale, has cancer. After spending the month prior to her departure sleeping in his ward at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, she made a late decision to travel to Glasgow to compete "because he really wanted me to".

Tuvale has endured 35 rounds of radiation treatment and three cycles of chemotherapy, and it is still ensure whether he will make a full recovery.

The sort of story sport is defined by.

Welterweight's go out with a bang

The welterweight competition in this afternoon's boxing session at the SECC has come to an end and Saint Lucia's Ron Bastien quite literally went out with a bang as he was floored by Scott Fitzgerald from England forcing the referee to step in and stop the bout in the third round.
Meanwhile, Mmusi Tswiige of Botswana emerged with a win from his all-African clash with Kokole Paneng but there was disappointment for the Scottish fans as Lewis Benson was defeated by Kiwi Bowyn Morgan.
I am off now to make my way to the Tollcross International Swimming Centre for tonights swimming action were there are eight gold medals up for grabs.
- Reporter Gary Anderson on some drama in the boxing ring.

15:48 Underway in the weightlifting. Jessica Edge of Malta is up first with a lift of 57kg. Deathly silence in the Arena as she makes her lift, but a great atmosphere punctuated by some suitably pumping music in between attempts.

Williams withdraws from Welsh team in doping scandal

Rhys Williams suspension is just shocking. Wales team captain terrible blow for team morale. We don't know full facts yet but shocking news
- BBC TV presenter Gabby Logan, who represented Team Wales in gymnastics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland

It appears that Williams may be exploring the possibility of having tested positive after taking a product supplied by "Mountain Fuel", who manufacture supplements he uses. They are cooperating with him to see if anything he took is contaminated. But the company is confident that it is nothing to do with them.  Interestingly, all references to Williams' sponsorship deal with Mountain Fuel appear to have been removed from the company's website and Facebook page. The company also sponsored the other Welsh athlete banned from these Games because of doping, Gareth Warburton. Again, all references to their association with him have been removed. 
- Editor Duncan Mackay with some more information about the latest Welsh doping scandal.

15:42 More details are emerging of the Rhys Williams test. Welsh Athletics have confirmed that the results of the B-sample were received this morning have confirmed the findings of the A-sample. That means the European 400m hurdles champion will now face a UK Athletics disciplinary hearing, probably in the autumn. "It's really now for Rhys to gather together as much information as possible to make a case for the defence," said Matt Newman, chief executive of Welsh Athletics.

Australia inflict more Welsh misery

15:38 You know your country's having a bad day when you consider it a minor triumph that the women's hockey team have kept their defeat against Australia to single figures. But Wales have done just that  having "restricted" their opponent to just the nine goals. The Welsh even ended on something of a high as they swarmed round the Aussie goal trying to score a consolation goal. Alas, it wasn't to be, however.



15:32 Biggest cheer so far at the weightlifting as the Scottish timekeeper Alex Phillips is introduced to the crowd, as the competitors enjoy their 10 minutes of preparation  time. Swati Singh of India and Chika Amalaha of Nigeria will also be challengers this afternoon.

15:28 The 12 lifters are about to make an appearance in the weightlifting. We've just been given a rendition of the rules of the sport through the medium of a song. "Weightlifting - A sport requiring mental and physical strength," seems to be the central lyric.

Big favourite today is Dika Toua of Papua New Guinea. And presenting the medals is none other than Papua New Guinean Sports Minister Justin Tkatchemko. He speaks enthusiastically beforehand, particularly about how the Oceanian nation is hosting the Pacific Games next year.

15:24 The Welsh women's hockey team are 9-0 in their match against Australia with seven minutes remaining. Can the Welsh keep the score down to single figures?

15:20 India remain in fourth place on the latest medals table after that gold medal. England have a narrow lead at the top still, although Australia and Scotland are breathing down their necks. 

I'm not sure if you can really breathe down a country's neck, but you know what I mean...

From one island to another...

15:16 Falkland Islands' bowler Michael Reive has been talking about the problems the face in their preparations - even though he has admitted he's never been there. "There's not actually a bowling green in the Falkland Islands," he said. "Hopefully they are going to build one and the exposure from this should help. They have been talking about it for a while and the funding is close.

"I've never actually been to the Falkland Islands. Most of us come from New Zealand and were born there. There's quite a big Islands community in the New Zealand so I've always been around people from the Falkland Islands."

15:12 Reporter Paul Osborne has left for the cycling, so Nick Butler is taking over the blog for a while, from the Clyde Auditorium - otherwise known as the Armadillo - for the women's 53 kg weightlifting.

And great timing, as Clyde the Mascot appears on stage as the Stadium gradually fills. He demonstrates some questionable clean and jerk technique before breaking into a celebratory jig.




15:07 A third gold medal of the Games for India, and there is no one bigger in Indian Olympic sport than Abhinav Bindra, the Beijing 2008 Olympic champion and first person from his country to ever win an individual Olympic gold medal.

He also won the first Indian gold in any sport since the men's hockey team won at Moscow 1980.

15:00 Bindra's won it. A great performance by the Indian.

A score of 205.3 gives him the gold he's been craving for at the past three Commonwealth Games.

Despite taking pairs gold in 2002, 2006 and 2010, Bindra has failed to seal the lonesome singles gold winning bronze, silver and bronze at the past three Games.

Some fine shooting has seen him edge Baki here, however, as the Bangladeshi settles for silver.

England's Daniel Rivers takes bronze.

14:55 Closing stages of the men's 10m air rifle final now and it looks to be India's Abhinav Bindra who will take the gold.

England's Daniel Rivers has already got his hands on the bronze after beating another Indian shooter, Ravi Khan, in a shoot-off before losing a further shoot-off to Bangladesh's Abdullah Baki.

It's just Baki and Bindra still in.

Update from the boxing



"The fists are flying and the punches are pummelling here at the SECC as the packed house are certainly getting their money's worth.
Kenya's Benson Gicharu Njangiru came through his bantamweight bout with Imran Khan of Guyana by unanimous decision.
Meanwhile there were wins for Maduranga Don Pathirage of Sri Lanka, South Afrcian Tulani Mbenge, Kenya's Rayton Okwiri and Azumah Mohammed of Ghana at welterweight 
The African success is being cheered on by a few particularly enthusiastic fans that are camped right beside the press box here at the SECC."
- Gary Anderson reports ringside from the boxing.

Birthday celebrations

14:42 Nice touch in the squash at the Scotscoun Sports Complex where the crowd sings "Happy Birthday"' to Scotland's Alan Clyne and England's Nick Matthew, who turn 28 and 34 today respectively. No time for cake yet, however, as they have an important last 16 tie to play first. 

Someone is going to have a birthday to remember...

From bad to worse for Wales

14:38 Its been quite the miserable day for the Welsh today and I'm pained to tell you that it's getting a whole lot worse for their hockey team.

After the men were narrowly beaten by India in this morning's early fixture, the women now find themselves five down to Australia.

Now you have to remember, of course, that the "hockeyroos" are three times Commonwealth Games champions having taking titles in 1998, 2006 and 2010, so a win may have been a long shot here for the Welsh.

Lovely day for lawn bowls