Cycling Track
Hoffman claims sprint gold to secure third Commonwealth Games medal
Fresh from team sprint gold and keirin silver earlier in the week, the Queensland rider produced another commanding performa...
QAS-supported athletes delivered a historic night at Scotstoun Stadium, with Ky Robinson crowned Commonwealth champion, Lachlan Kennedy and Torrie Lewis rewriting the Australian sprint record books, and Lara Roberts battling through difficult conditions to claim hammer throw bronze.
Robinson launched the Queensland medal rush with a tactical masterclass in the men’s 10,000m, biding his time before taking control over the closing stages.
The QAS-supported distance star surged clear on the final lap to hold off India’s Gulveer Singh and secure Commonwealth Games gold in 27:48.93.
“As a kid you look up to the Commonwealth Games and to come away with the win means a lot,” Robinson said.
“That’s a young boy’s dream that’s come true there.”
Robinson said patience was key before making his decisive move.
“I decided I would be the guy who picked it up slowly and then in the last kilometre I really go for it and leave nothing left.”
Attention then turned to the 100m finals, where Kennedy and Lewis produced one of the greatest nights in Australian sprinting history despite the pouring Glasgow rain.
Australia’s fastest man Kennedy lived up to the hype on his Commonwealth Games debut, blasting to 9.85 seconds (+1.3) to claim silver and lower his own Australian record.
Kennedy finished just one-hundredth of a second behind Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme while ending a 64-year wait for an Australian men’s medal in the 100m or 200m at the Commonwealth Games.
“I came here wanting to win, but second place with a big PB is a good consolation prize,” Kennedy said.
“I’m very proud for my country to be able to get a medal at the Commonwealth Games. I’m all about rising to the occasion.”
Lewis then delivered history of her own, setting back-to-back Australian records across the women’s 100m semi-final and final.
After clocking 11.00 seconds in the semi-final, the 21-year-old went one better when it mattered most, scorching to 10.99 seconds (+1.0) to claim bronze and become the first Australian woman to break the 11-second barrier.
The result also secured Australia’s first Commonwealth Games medal in the women’s 100m in 30 years.
“Dream situation, genuinely!” Lewis said.
“I was hoping I got a medal but I didn’t want to celebrate too early … but as soon as I saw my name on the screen I was super happy, and even more happy with the 10.99!”
Queensland’s medal haul continued in the field, where QAS-supported Lara Roberts threw 68.05m to claim bronze in the women’s hammer throw.
Roberts produced her medal-winning effort in the second round and held onto her podium position despite increasingly challenging conditions as rain accumulated in the throwing circle.
Kennedy trains daily in the QAS high-performance environment in Brisbane, Lewis developed through the QAS athletics program before continuing her career in the Netherlands, while Roberts remains supported by QAS alongside her collegiate program in the United States.
Robinson’s gold, Kennedy’s silver, and bronze medals for Lewis and Roberts gave QAS-supported athletes four medals on a memorable second night of Athletics and Para Athletics, highlighted by a Commonwealth title, two Australian sprint records and the end of decades-long medal droughts.
With more Queenslanders still to compete at Scotstoun Stadium, Australia’s Athletics and Para Athletics campaign continues to gather momentum in Glasgow.
