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| Hosts: Birmingham Dates: July 28 to August 8 |
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Scotland’s world champion Jake Wightman had to settle for Commonwealth bronze as Australia’s Oliver Hoare came through in the final meters to claim an impressive 1500m gold.
Wightman, who stunned at the world championships in Eugene last month, made his move with 200 meters to go but was unable to hold on to the lead.
Hoare overtook Kenyan silver medalist Timothy Cheruiyot at the line before dropping to his knees in disbelief at Alexander Stadium.
Meanwhile, England’s Nicky Miller defended his hammer title, narrowly missing out on the final three shots.
The 29-year-old missed his first two attempts, then threw 69.04m to break into the top eight, before his fifth throw of 76.43 secured gold ahead of Canada’s Ethan Katzberg and Alexandros Poursanidis of Cyprus.
Hoare stuns the quality sector
Wightman was aiming to complete the second leg of a golden hat-trick this summer, having won world gold and with the European Championships in Munich to come this month.
Anticipation was high in another sold-out session at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium as Wightman led a host of home nations, including the formidable Kenyans Cheruiyot and Abel Kipsang.
But the story was Australia’s Hoare, who smashed his personal best by over two seconds to set a race record and make amends for his subpar performance at the world championships, where he didn’t even make the final.
The 25-year-old was fourth in the straight but managed to hold off Cheruiyot in the closing meters to become the first Australian to win Commonwealth 1500m gold since Herb Elliott in 1958.
Scotland’s Olympic bronze medalist Josh Kerr was well off the pace and finished last.
Wales’ Jake Heyward was fifth and England’s Matthew Stonier seventh ahead of Scotland’s Neil Gourlay, who finished eighth despite his personal best.
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