Jamaican sprint great Elaine Thompson-Herah and distance runner Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda sealed Commonwealth Games doubles by winning the 200 metres and 5,000m on Saturday.
Thompson-Herah has made sprint doubles her speciality — she is a two-time dual Olympic champion — and she did it in style in Birmingham by setting a new Games record of 22.02sec.
“I was going for a Games record in the 100 and it didn’t work so I said, ‘I must get it in the 200’,” said the Jamaican star.
“I must say I’m just grateful to claim that gold today, the day we celebrate Independence Day in Jamaica.”
Kiplimo emulated compatriot Joshua Cheptegei in 2018 in achieving the distance double, timing 13min 08.08sec.
As he danced over to his team in the stands and did a lap of honour, the loudest roars were heard for Solomon Islands athlete Rosefelo Siosi as he completed his race more than four minutes after Kiplimo had finished.
“It was a wonderful performance for me,” said Kiplimo. “I have two (gold medals) and I’m so happy about it.”
Oliver Hoare earlier became the first Australian to win the 1500m title, timing 3min 30.12sec to break Filbert Bayi’s Games record, which had stood since 1974.
The 25-year-old produced a perfectly timed run down the finishing straight to breeze past first world champion Jake Wightman and Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot, the world champion in 2019.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards lit up the evening session as he successfully defended his 200m title, timing 19.80sec to eclipse the great Frankie Fredericks’ 1994 mark of 19.97.
Hoare’s win was one of three Australian golds.
Kurtis Marschall retained his pole vault title after the event eventually got under way after some of the competitors’ poles were late being delivered to the track.
Jemima Montag added the women’s 10,000m walk to her 20km title in 2018 wiping tears from her eyes as she revealed her late grandmother Judith, a Holocaust survivor who died last year, was her inspiration.
“She teaches me to take one step at a time and it also puts things into perspective,” she said.
‘Everybody went past me’
The Kenyans may have come off second best to Kiplimo but they still won two golds — Abraham Kibiwot in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase and Mary Moraa in the women’s 800m.
