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Athletics at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast gets underway with both the men and women’s 100-metre early rounds, as well as the men’s 5000-metre final headlining the day. Join The Roar for live coverage in our blog from 2pm (AEST).
The Gold Coast will get their first look at the world’s fastest active sprinter on Sunday, with Yohann Blake in the second last heat for the men’s 100-metre sprint.
Blake has a stunning personal best time of 9.69, while he has already broken the ten-second barrier this season, running 9.90.
He is a raging favourite to take out the sprint when it gets to the medal race later on, but for now, he will aim to qualify for the semi-finals at the end of Day 1 competition in the middle of the track.
Australian trio Rohan Browning, Trae Williams and Josh Clarke will also be at the back end of the heats, with the three holding personal best times of 10.19, 10.10 and 10.15 respectively.
It’s hard to see anyone challenging Blake in the sprint though, with the Jamaican likely to cruise through not having to take on long time rival Usain Bolt.
The women’s version of the same event has been blown wide open by the decision from Nigerian Commonwealth Games record holder and defending champion Blessing Okagbare not to compete.
In her absence, Jamaican’s Natasha Robinson and Christina Williams, as well as Michelle-Lee Ahye of Trinidad and Tobago become the favourites. The three are the only three out of the 48-runner field to have cracked 11 seconds, with Ahye the only one to do so this year.
The first medal of the athletics will be decided in the men’s hammer throw, with Englishman Nick Miller and Scotish duo Chris Bennett and Mark Dry shaping as the favourites. Matthew Denny of Australia is also likely to finish up the top end of the field.
The other medal to be decided will be in the men’s 5000-metre final, which will see a 15-runner field. The only man to break the 13-minute mark in the field is Ugandan Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei, and it’s hard to see him being beaten, with that race set to get underway at 4:40pm (AEST).
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the first day of athletics action on the Gold Coast from 2pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.