Two English brothers who have dominated the triathlon in recent years finished outside the medal places at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday as South Africa’s Henri Schoeman took gold on the Gold Coast of Australia.
Alistair Brownlee, who has won two Olympic gold medals, came in 10th place. His brother Jonny finished seventh. The brothers finished first and second in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Schoeman won in 52 minutes 31 seconds. The Commonwealth Games’ triathlon is half the distance of the Olympic event, consisting of a 750 meter open-water swim, a 20km cycle and a 5km run.
Australia’s Jacob Birtwhistle finished second, with Scotland’s Marc Austin rounding off the podium places to take bronze.
Alastair Brownlee voiced his disappointment on Twitter and gave an update on his fitness after struggling with a number of injuries since the start of the year.
“Tough day out there for both of us today. I gave it all I had after a very testing last month. I enjoyed being out on the race course and the body has held up fine,” he tweeted.
Jonny Brownlee promised to bounce back on Saturday April 7 when the two brothers have a second chance of a medal in the mixed team relay.
“Didn’t have the legs today,” he tweeted. “Gave it everything but disappointed not to hold on for a medal. Will recover and be ready for the relay on Saturday
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READ: A guide to the Commonwealth Games
Elsewhere, the first day of the Commonwealth Games had 18 other gold medals to compete for and some of its biggest names involved. Here’s the top highlights of day one:
Aussie hurdler injured
Sally Pearson, the face of the Australian Games has had to pull out of the competition due to an Achilles tendon problem. The 31-year-old hurdler was supposed to compete in the 100m hurdles and the 4x100m relay.
Pearson also carried the Queen’s baton in the opening ceremony.
READ: Injured Pearson pulls out of Games
First gold medal
The first gold medal of the Games was won by Bermuda’s Flora Duffy in the women’s triathlon.
The 30 year-old completed the event in 56 minutes 50 seconds to win Bermuda’s second ever Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Starting young
For any athlete making a winning debut at the Commonwealth Games is a huge achievement, but for an 11-year-old? That’s just remarkable.
Welsh table tennis player Anna Hursey is still only a sixth-grader yet she is not only competing in the Games but she managed to win her opening doubles match against India.
Not a bad way to spend the Easter break from school!
Strong
The second gold medal of the Games came in the men’s 56kg weightlifting as Malaysia’s Muhammad Azroy Hazalwa Izhar Ahmad won the event by lifting 261 kgs – nearly five times his own bodyweight!
Shock Upsets
The biggest upsets so far in the Games have been the Welsh women’s hockey team defeating India, while Jersey stunned Australia with a win in the team lawn bowls competition.
The Commonwealth Games run until April 15.
