Commonwealth Games: Theisen-Eaton golden on another big day in Glasgow
A day after Canada triumphed in decathlon, Brianne Theisen-Eaton completed the combined events athletics double at the Commonwealth Games with gold in the heptathlon.
Theisen-Eaton topped three of the four events on day one (high jump, shot put, 200m) Tuesday. In the latter race the Canadian set the Commonwealth Games record in heptathlon with a clocking of 23.41 seconds.
On Wednesday, Theisen-Eaton opened with the farthest long jump before wrapping up the seven-event competition with a victory in the 800m for a total of 6597 points.
Throughout the two days Theisen-Eaton was stalked by teammate Jessica Zelinka, who took the heptathlon silver medal with 6270 points. Zelinka had the fastest time in the 100m hurdles and the longest javelin throw.
High jumper Derek Drouin’s fantastic season continued with Commonwealth gold on Wednesday. His 2.31m clearance was enough to secure first place. Mike Mason jumped 2.25m to earn a Canada a bronze medal in men’s high jump to complement Drouin’s gold.
Canada’s fifth medal of the day in athletics came from Julie Labonté in shot put – a bronze at Hampden Park.
Diving
Divers Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion followed up their Olympic bronze medal in London two years ago with a Commonwealth Games title in Scotland on Wednesday.
Fresh off their bronze medal finish at the FINA Diving World Cup earlier this month, Benfeito and Filion continued their great form in women’s 10m synchro. The Canadians were second to the English pair of Sarah Barrow and Tonia Couch heading into the final dive but pulled off a superior score to clinch the gold 310.65 points to 307.92.
Jennifer Abel and Pamela Ware nearly doubled the diving gold on Wednesday in 3m synchro, but a tremendous final effort from England’s Alicia Blagg and Rebecca Gallantree handed Canada the silver medal. Abel and Ware came into the competition having won silver at the World Cup.
Wrestling
Canada followed up a solid first day of competition in Commonwealth wrestling with five medals on Wednesday, including three gold.
On Tuesday, Erica Wiebe, Korey Jarvis (both with gold) and Jasmine Mian (bronze) got on the podium. A day later five more Canadians earned wrestling medals in Glasgow.
On the women’s side Dori Yeats took home the 69 kg crown by beating her Cameroonian opponent Angele Tomo in the gold medal match. Two bronze medals were had through Jill Gallays (53 kg) and teenager Braxton Rei Stone (58 kg).
Canada’s male wrestlers took a pair of Commonwealth titles on Wednesday over Indian opponents. Arjun Gill won the 97 kg category and David Tremblay prevailed in the 61 kg class to bring the country’s two-day wrestling medal total to eight (five gold, three bronze).
Wrestling wraps up on Thursday.
