Thompson-Herah, Kiplimo complete Commonwealth Games golden double

BIRMINGHAM: Jamaican sprint queen Elaine Thompson-Herah romped to victory in the 200 metres and Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo held on to win the men's 5,000m to complete contrasting Commonwealth Games golden doubles at Alexander Stadium on Saturday night.

After breezing to gold in the 100m on Wednesday, Thompson-Herah made it look easy again coasting home in a Games record time of 22.02 seconds ahead of Nigeria's Favour Ofili and Namibia's Christine Mboma.

While the two golds are Thompson-Herah's first individual medals at a Commonwealth Games, the 30-year-old has twice completed the 100/200m sprint double at the Olympics.

Kiplimo had used a late kick to beat a pair of Kenyans to the line in Tuesday's 10,000m but in the 5,000m it was the 21-year-old holding strong down the home stretch, seeing off yet another double Kenyan threat posting a winning time of 13 minutes, 8.08 seconds.

Once again Kenyans were left to collect the spoils, Nicholas Kimeli the silver and Jacob Krop bronze.

It marked the second consecutive Games Uganda has swept the two distance events with Joshua Cheptegei having won the 5,000m, 10,000m double at the Gold Coast.

While Thompson-Herah and Kiplimo basked in double gold glory, their joy was restrained compared to the exhilaration of Alastair Chalmers after claiming tiny Guernsey Island's first ever athletics medal when he snatched bronze in the men's 400m hurdles and doing so a week after contracting COVID-19.

Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands successfully defended his 400m hurdles title in 48.93 ahead of Jamaica's Jaheel Hyde but in the finish area you might have thought it was Chalmers who got gold.

Jamaica came home one-two in the women's 400m hurdles with Janieve Russell defending her Commonwealth crown ahead of Shiann Salmon.

Other gold medal winners included Trinidad and Tobago's Jereem Richards winning the men's 200m, Australia's Kurtis Marschall the pole vault and Canada's Camryn Rogers in the women's hammer throw. Agencies

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