After the eighth day of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on July 31, Canada sat third in the medal count behind England and Australia with 65 medals: 27 gold, 13 silver and 25 bronze.
One of those gold medals was earned by Vancouver rhythmic gymnast Annabelle Kovacs, 18, in the team competition. The 18-year-old Aura Rhythmics athlete finished 13th overall and ninth in the hoop for her highest individual result. Her teammates Patricia Bezzoubenko finished first overall and Maria Kitkarska seventh to win team gold for Canada.
Also part of a team effort, UBC swimmer Tera Van Beilen won bronze in the women’s 4x100m medley relay on July 29. The breaststroker also finished sixth in the 100m and fifth in the 50m events. In the shorter distance, she swam 31.22 seconds in the final on July 25 but swam even faster in the semi-final, setting a personal best to qualify; her 30.74 in the semi-final was faster than the bronze medal winner’s time in the final the next day.
After the 50m breaststroke final, Van Beilen told Swimming Canada, “I felt better in warmup today than I did yesterday, but the race was definitely better swum yesterday, which is unfortunate because if I would have gone that time I would have medalled today. Yesterday was a best time, so you can't really complain going over a half second faster in a 50.”
Mike Mason, a former UBC Thunderbird from Nanoose Bay, won his first Commonwealth medal in the high jump after he cleared 2.25 metres for third place. The two-time Olympian finished seventh at the 2010 Delhi Games.
In the women's javelin final, Canadian record holder and Kitsilano secondary alumna Liz Gleadle finished off the podium in fifth place. Her best throw of 60.69 metres came on her final attempt and while she is capable of more, Gleadle recovered from injury earlier this year and in a tweet said she is grateful to be healthy again. “Not overly happy with my performance,” she wrote July 30, “but I try to remember that every throw this year is a gift. Can’t wait for a full [year] of training.”
In a mixed doubles badminton July 31, Vancouverites Phyllis Chan and Derrick Ng defeated South Africa 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Canada’s rugby sevens team finished the pool play with one win and a loss to both Scotland and New Zealand, putting them out of medal contention. But the team — which includes St. George’s grad Conor Trainor and 2013 Rugby Canada player of the year Sean Duke, a Prince of Wales alum — won the Bowl with three straight wins for a combined score 115 to 7.
For up-to-the-minute results, visit glasgow2014.com.
