Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington recovered from her own case of Delhi belly to win the 800m freestyle gold medal after a day of speculation about sick swimmers, the quality of the water in the Commonwealth Games pool and a never-ceasing supply of technical woes.
A Jamaican man won the blue-ribbon 100m on the track on Thursday night, even in the absence of world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt.
Lerone Clarke claimed gold in 10.12 seconds, with Mark Lewis-Francis of England taking silver in 10.20 and Aaron Armstrong of Trinidad and Tobago placing third in 10.24.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I know I am fast, even if Usain Bolt is not here,” Clarke said. “I am still here and I am part of the Jamaican team.”
In a controversial women’s 100 final, Australia’s Sally Pearson, the 2008 Olympic 100m hurdles silver medalist, crossed first in 11.28 seconds, but was later disqualified following a protest by the England team.
Australia’s subsequent appeal failed and Osayemi Oludamola of Nigeria, originally second in 11.32, was moved up to the gold medal spot and Natasha Mayers of St Vincent and the Grenadines, who originally crossed third in 11.37, moved up to silver.
PHOTO: AFP
England’s Katherine Endacott got the bronze medal.
Pearson and England’s Laura Turner appeared to false start. Turner was given a red card but insisted on racing under protest.
“The most disappointing part is that I was told I was clear. I did my victory lap with the flag,” a tearful Pearson said.
Canada won a pair of throwing golds with Dylan Armstrong taking the men’s shot put and Sultana Frizell winning the women’s hammer throw.
Armstrong won with a toss of 21.02m. Scott Dorian Amand of Jamaica was second and Dale Stevenson of Australia took bronze.
Frizell claimed her gold with a throw of 68.57m, while Carys Parry of Wales took silver and Zoe Derham of England was third.
Despite the drama on the track, the focus of the day was on the pool.
The British media reported that 20 percent of the England swim squad had been ill with a stomach virus. Australia confirmed at least “half a dozen” of its swimmers had been sick.
There were inferences that the warmup pool was the common cause, but organizers were quick to assure teams that the water had been tested and the quality meet competition standards. Swimmers, including five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe — in New Delhi as a commentator for the BBC — played down any chance the pool water was a factor, saying the chlorine killed off the threat.
England’s team management issued a statement saying eight percent of the 541 people in its delegation — that’s 43 people — had experienced some kind of mild stomach problems over the previous 28 days, which was lower than had been anticipated. Swim team spokesman Dave Richardson said the ratio of swimmers falling ill hadn’t been any higher than other sports, adding that no swimmer had missed competition.
Regardless, it was still another negative connotation for an event that has been plagued with problems including long delays in venue construction, allegations of corruption and mismanagement and concerns over health and security amid a myriad of glitches.
Adlington, who won the 400 and 800 freestyle gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, held off South Africa’s Wendy Trott over the last two laps to win the 800 in 8 minutes, 24.69 seconds.
Alicia Coutts of Australia won her third individual gold of the Games, adding the 100 butterfly title to her previous golds in the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle.
Brent Hayden gave Canada another gold medal with victory in the 100 freestyle in 47.98 seconds. Simon Burnett of England was second in 48.54, while pre-race favorite and fastest qualifier Eamon Sullivan of Australia took the bronze in 48.69.
Hayden said he, too, had been affected by a stomach bug.
“My Delhi belly’s a little better today, I’m almost over it,” he said. “It’s happening to everybody in all sports, it’s a place we’re not used to. If you can be comfortable being uncomfortable, that’s great.”
Canada continued its unbeaten streak in synchronized swimming at the Commonwealth Games when Marie-Pier Boudreau-Gagnon won the solo competition, then teamed with Chloe Isaac to win the duet.
Canada has never lost a synchro swim competition at the Commonwealth Games, winning 13 gold medals in 13 events since 1986.
“It’s my last chance to get a gold medal [before retirement], so I am really happy that I did well,” Boudreau-Gagnon, who had 95.334 points, said after her solo win.
Australia has dominated the velodrome in New Delhi, sweeping the four gold medals on Thursday to lift its track cycling tally to 10 of the 11 awarded so far.
World and Olympic champion cyclist Anna Meares won the women’s sprint for her third gold medal of the meet, while teammate Megan Dunn collected her second by winning the 10km scratch race.
The Australian quartet also won the men’s team pursuit, defeating New Zealand, and Shane Perkins won the men’s sprint.
Australia maintained top place on the medal standings, followed by India and England. Canada gained ground with nine gold medals on day four of competition.
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