Highlight of the day at the Commonwealth Games 2014 velodrome was without doubt the gold medal won by Neil Fachie and Craig MacLean in the Para B2 Tandem Kilo Time Trial.
Going off last and fastest at every check, the pair were carried along by the enormous, ear-splitting roar from the full-capacity crowd, with lots of Scots but also a fair percentage of other nations too all voicing their support for the effort and spectacle.
The track always throws up drama and great competition, and today we saw great Pursuit wins for England (Joanna Rowsell) and Australia (Jack Bobridge), and exciting Sprint finals with New Zealand’s Sam Webster claiming gold over Jason Kenny (England), with Kiwi Ed Dawkins winning the bronze from Peter Lewis (Australia).
Women’s Individual Pursuit
Reigning World Pursuit Champion England’s Joanna Rowsell took on Anette Edmonson (Australia) in the final after the two qualified first and second in the morning session, Rowsell setting a new Games Record in her qualifying heat with her ride of 3:29.038.
Edmonson started very quickly in the final and for the first three laps it looked like she would give Rowsell a run for her money, but once Rowsell was into her stride she quickly rode the gap down and by half distance was in command and moving to catch sight of Edmonson on the straights, finishing just shy of four seconds up on the Australian.
Scotland’s Katie Archibald qualified fourth behind Amy Cure of Australia, and in the ride off for the bronze medal was two seconds slower to end up off the podium the looking forward to the next bunch race.
Photo Gallery: Women’s Individual Pursuit
