Mon, Aug 04, 2014 page20

• Usain Bolt steals the show to take gold

  COMPLETING THE COLLECTION: The eight-time world champion led Jamaica’s men to 4 x 100m relay gold in 37.58 seconds for his first Commonwealth Games medal

  • Reuters, GLASGOW, Scotland
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  Six-times Olympic champion Usain Bolt stole the show to give the Commonwealth Games the moment it had been waiting for by leading Jamaica to gold in the 4x100m relay on Saturday.

  After weeks of buildup, anticipation and controversy, eight-time world champion Bolt delighted the Hampden Park crowd as he raced down the home straight to give Jamaica victory in a Games record time of 37.58 seconds.

  In doing so, the towering sprinter also claimed the first Commonwealth medal of his illustrious career.

  

  Jamaica’s Usain Bolt poses after winning the men’s 4 x 100m relay athletics event during the Commonwealth Games at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, on Saturday.

  Photo: AFP

  “I’m happy for the fans and I’m happy to get my Commonwealth gold medal,” Bolt told reporters. “It [the Commonwealth Games] was always on my to-do list. I always wanted to go to the Commonwealths. I wanted to run an individual event here, but I got injured, so I decided to run the 4x100.”

  Having been the shining light in a Games where big names have been few and far between, the Jamaican dealt with the weight of expectation in his usual charismatic manner.

  After anchoring the Jamaica team of Jason Livermore, Kemar Bailey-Cole and Nickel Ashmeade to victory on a puddle-strewn track, Bolt charmed the crowd by performing his ‘lightning bolt’ celebration, posing for selfies and donning a tartan hat.

  

  England’s Jo Pavey, left, competes in the final of the women’s 5,000m athletics event during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on Saturday.

  Photo: AFP

  “Other than the weather, it’s been brilliant,” Bolt said of Glasgow.

  “It felt like any other championship. I got to watch a lot more sports and see a lot more athletes competing,” he said.

  “It’s always great to have fun with the fans. They made the Games what it was. They are so warm, even when I was cold, they were always warm. I want to say that this new thing about selfies, they are really making these laps of honor really, really long,” he joked.

  

  Jennifer Abel of Canada dives during the women’s 3m Springboard final at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Saturday.

  Photo: Reuters

  Jamaica picked up further gold medals on the final day of athletics as Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce anchored the women’s 4x100m team to victory, while Stephanie McPherson, who won the 400m gold on Tuesday, helped the Jamaicans clinch the 4x400m relay title.

  Kenya also left Hampden with three golds as James Kiplagat Magut made a late surge to win the men’s 1,500m, while Mercy Cherono claimed the women’s 5,000m and Julius Kiplagat Yego threw 83.87m in tricky conditions to scoop the men’s javelin.

  Matthew Hudson-Smith anchored England to gold in a thrilling men’s 4x400m final, while Australia’s Alana Boyd cleared 4.50 in the women’s pole vault to retain her title.

  

  Jamaica’s Usain Bolt poses for photographs with fans after Jamaica won the men’s 4x100m relay final at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on Saturday.

  Photo: Reuters

  South Africa’s Khotso Mokoena won the men’s triple jump.

  Eleven days of sporting action in Glasgow was to come to an end yesterday with the closing ceremony at Hampden Park.
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