Commonwealth Games: Opening day of competition

ALL THE NEWS, ACTION AND REACTION LIVE FROM GLASGOW 2014 AS IT HAPPENS!

By Paul Osborne and Nick Butler in Glasgow
Click refresh for latest updates. All times stated are British

ENGLAND TOP MEDALS TABLE ON FIRST DAY BUT SCOTS ENJOY GOLDEN EVENING

Good night!

10:30 We will be back tomorrow at 09:00 to cover every lift, stroke, pedal and throw of day two. Plenty more medals to come, along with the start of new sports such as boxing as well.

See you then!

"Exhilarating, exciting, entertaining and exhausting."
- Four words to describe day one of action by our reporter Paul Osborne.
Looks like he made it out of the Velodrome at least..

10:27 We are about to wrap up proceedings here after a frantic, exciting and spectacular opening day of sport here in Glasgow. We had double English delight in Strathclyde Country Park, Aussie success on the Velodrome, including a fifth gold medal at the Commonwealth Games for sprinter Anna Meares, and two weightlifting titles for India.

But, arguably top of the bill were the four gold medals for the host nation, for Louise and Kimberley Renicks and a home 200m breaststroke victory in the pool, albeit for Ross Murdoch rather than Michael Jamieson, along with for Hannah Miley in the 400m individual medley.

10:23 Two good wins in another racket sport of badminton for Scotland, as the host nation opened proceedings at the Emirates Arena with two 5-0 wins, over Seychelles and Jersey respectively.

Men's singles player Kieran Merrilees enjoyed wins in each of those matches.

10:20 Another comfortable wins for an English star in squash first round action, as Laura Massaro of England eased her way into the last 16 with an 11-2 11-4 11-1 win against Lynette Vai of Papua New Guinea.

10:13 And that final gold medal to bring you now. India have continued their 100 per cent record in weightlifting. Sukhen Dey has won the men's 56kg title with a total weight of 248kg.

Zulhelmi Md Pisol of Malaysia took silver, while Ganesh Mali wins bronze.

10:10 That follows the silver medal that the Canadian team took four years ago, at Delhi 2010, on which occasion Australia secured the gold medal.

10:05 Canada win the Group title in rhythmic gymnastics. It was a valiant effort by the Welsh team, but ultimately Canada prove too strong and it is they who take the gold medal.

Malaysia take the bronze medal ahead of England, with Scotland down in seventh position.

Scotland 3,000m steeplechaser Elish McColgan with Clyde the Mascot

21:50 There are still two gold medals to be won tonight, but the disciplines could not be much more different, It is rhythmic gymnastics and weightlifting.

Wales are in a tussle with Canada, albeit one of the ropes, clubs and ribbons variety, for the gymnastics title.

21:40 "It appears someone forgot to tell our reporter Paul Osborne that the party's over inside the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. Let's just hope Celine Dion's All By Myself isn't playing out over the speakers...'

At the risk of being slightly biased to my Celtic cousins it has been a night for Scotland's swimming fans to remember as Hannah Miley and Ross Murdoch got the Tollcross Centre rocking and rolling with pride and emotion as the duo took gold and Commonwealth Games records.
- Gary Anderson chose a good night to visit the Tollcross Centre.

21:34 Well, what a first night of swimming finals we have had and what a night for Australia and Scotland. The Aussies have won three gold medals and set two world records in the process.

They have obliterated the previous best mark of 3:31.72 set by The Netherlands in 2009. I think that merits an Aussie flag!

Just when we thought things could not get much more dramatic Australia's 4x100m freestyle squad have smashed the world record on their way to gold in a time of 3:30:98. England were second and Canada third.

An Australian journalist at the triathlon earlier predicted that very result!

You won, Ross, you only went and won gold!

21:16 Wow! I'm not sure how much more the roof at this place can take before it lifts off into the Glasgow sky. Jamieson was the poster boy of these Games and, although it was always possible he would be beaten, to finish behind a fellow Scot...

Murdoch's best result to date were two silver medals at the 2012 European Junior Championships in Antwerp!

He only made his senior Champion debut last year at the World Championships in Barcelona, going out in the semi-finals of the 100m breaststroke.

21:13 Ross Murdoch wins the gold!

Murdoch and Jamieson fought like warriors over the final 50m metres but it was Murdoch who touched home just in front of his team mate in a new Commonwealth Games record time of 2:07:30.

Andrew Willis takes bronze for England.

21:11 It's a battle of the Scots here and Jamieson is out in front...just ahead of Ross Murdoch.

21:10 Right, it is the big one now in the pool as far as the home fans are concerned - the men's 200m breaststroke final

The Saltires are waving and the decibels are rising as the finalists are introduced.

"Esteemed company for a wonderful achievement as fittingly International Paralympic Committee President Sir Philip Craven and Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg present the medals in the men's Para-sport 100m freestyle S9.Sir Philip gives a hearty handshake and warm words of congratulation to new champion and world record holder Rowan Crothers."
- Gary Anderson on the latest swimming medals ceremony.

21:01 There are more medals to come this evening in weightlifting, as the men's under 56 kilogram competition gets underway. Sanjita Khumukcham has already secured gold for India in the under 48 kilogram division.

Every cloud... England find the positives after team pursuit loss

"Silver today in the team pursuit. Not our best ever ride but a massive step on from the worlds. Thanks for all the messages of support!"
- Ed Clancy reflects on the defeat for the England team pursuit team, which also included 2012 Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins, as Australia dominated their final.

20:58 Action is also going on in lawn bowls, badminton, hockey and netball this evening.

20:55 In squash, meanwhile, there's been some excitement for the home fans as Scotland's Alan Clyne won a humdinger of a contest against India's Harinder Pal Sandhu.

After an hour and 33 minutes the home player triumphed 12-14 11-9 13-15 11-1 11-9.

20:50 A brief look at some of the sport we are yet to really focus today. It's day one of team action in table tennis, with preliminary matches going on all day. On the men's side, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Uganda are the latest three teams to taste victory, over Mauritius, Kiribati and Tanzania respectively.

Medal contenders England, India and Singapore have all enjoyed comfortable victories today.

"I think it's a case of a slight calm before the storm here at the Tollcross Centre as the semi-finals and a couple of medal ceremonies will precede what is sure to be another cacophony of noise as London 2012 silver medal winner Michael Jamieson goes in the 200m breaststroke.
Jamieson will be joined by compatriots Calum Tait and Ross Murdoch. English trio Adam Peaty, Andrew Willis and James Wilby join Welshman Rob Holderness and Australia's Christian Spenger in the final."
-Reporter Gary Anderson is enjoying action in the pool.

20:46 Scotland's judo juggernaut suffers a setback, however, as Davis is in a different class to Inglis to claim the gold. She does a little jig in front of the home fans, who still applaud. Nothing is going to dampen their spirits after such an historic night.

Netball milestone reached

20:40 The total number of points scored in netball in Commonwealth Games history crossed the 15,000 mark on Thursday after Malawi's 71-50 win against Northern Ireland in Group A. It took 142 matches to reach this milestone.

20:35 After all that excitement in the pool, we have a break from medal action as the a number of semi-finals are taking place. The women's 50m breaststroke is first up.
Prior to the semi-finals Ryan Cochrane went through a familiar routine as the reigning champion collected his second successive Commonwealth Games 400m freestyle gold medal

The line-up for the final of the women's 50m breaststroke has been completed and Alia Atkinson of Jamaica sealed her place in style with a Games record of 30.17 in heat two
She will be joined by Scotland's Kathryn Johnstone, Corrie Scott and Andrea Strachan. Australia's Leiston Pickett won heat one and she will be joined by compatriot Lorna Tonks, while England's Sophie Taylor and Canadian Tera van Beilen also make it through

Advance Australia fair rings out now as Emma McKeon receives her gold medal for winning the 200m freestyle. The three Aussie flags I can see in the packed crow are waving proudly and wildly

20:30 Connie Ramsay has just claimed another bronze for Scotland in the women's under 57kg with the other medal going to New Zealand's Darcina Manuel, who had arrived here as gold medal favourite only to lose her first match. Her absence has opened up the competition where Scotland are chasing another gold with Stephanie Inglis taking on England's Nekoda Davis.

20:28 A briefest of pauses from the medals action to bring you news that, for the second time today, a Trinidad and Tobago hockey team are struggling. It is the men this time, they are 6-1 down to England as we approach the final stages.

20:19 Louise Renicks has admitted it was difficult to remain focused for her fight after watching younger sister Kimberley strike gold earlier. "I watched a bit of my sister's fight, where she won and then got her medal, but I had to keep myself focused," she said.

"I heard the Brownlee brothers won for England tonight, so now it is two families who can celebrate," she said. "I feel really proud with us getting the first gold medals for Scotland and there is much more to come."

20:10 Speak of the Renicks and they shall appear...

Or so seems the case as Louise Rennicks get up onto the podium. The crowd are on their feet again. Flower of Scotland is about to waft over the SECC for a second time this evening in honour of one of the Renicks girls. A truly historic achievement.

Louise is lot less emotional than sister Kimberley was earlier when she received her gold medal. She sings along to the National Anthem and waves happily at the crowd.

There's going to be some celebration in the Renick household tonight.

20:08 Medals, medals, and more medals. There's been an avalanche of medals here at the Commonwealth Games, from both the pool and the tatami.

Despite the chaos, our editor Duncan Mackay has been trawling through the Commonwealth Games record books and we are pretty certain that the Renicks' achievement of winning gold medals on the same day is unique.

Philip Barker, care to correct us?

More medals in the judo

20:05 That's another gold for England and another airing for Tony Hadley and Spandau Ballet.

This time it is Colin Oates who is celebrating after beating Cyprus' Andreas Krassas in the under 66kg category

There was also another medal for Scotland with James Millar claiming one of the two bronze medals, along with South Africa's Siyabulala Mabulu.

World record!

19:58 It's all splashing off in the pool now!

Just minutes after McKeon had won her gold medal, Aussie team mate Rowan Crothers breaks his own world record to take gold in the men's Para-sport 100m freestyle S9 with a time of 54.48.

Just to add Australia's delight, they secured a clean sweep in the event with Matt Cowdrey and Brenden Hall picking up silver and bronze.

19:53 Gold for Australia!!

McKeon does it and takes a second off her Commonwealth record from heats this morning as she clocks 1.55.57.

Silver goes to England's O'Connor with Barratt securing another medal for the Aussies.

19:52: Here we go last 25m and it looks like McKeon is just edging it as O'Connor appears to be tiring.

19:51 50m to go and it's another all-out battle to the line.

19:50 McKeon and O'Connor will battle it out for gold as they are well clear another Australian Bronte Barratt in third.

19:48 McKeon set a Commonwealth Games record in qualifying this morning and she leads here after 150m ahead of England's Siobhan Marie O'Connor.

19:45 Next up in the pool is the women's 200m freestyle where Australian Emma McKeon is the favourite for gold.

Poolside medal ceremony

Gary Anderson

"A puff of the cheeks and a squeeze of the bag signal the start of the first medal ceremony here and of course it had to be a Scot. Hannah Miley punches the air and here comes the Flower of Scotland...
If there were gold medals for singing in unison at the top of your voice then this crowd would be picking up gold right now. Stirring stuff indeed...
And here comes the Proclaimers blasting over the sound system
Where is my kilt laddie...!!"
- Some more poolside news from Gary Anderson at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.

19:37 Amid the Scottish fervour, McKenzie has received his gold medal. But the biggest cheer, inevitably, was for Buchanan, who shared the third play podium with Razak Abugiri, claiming Ghana's first medal of these Game

19:35 With so much action going on all around us here in Glasgow some of you may not have seen the hosts shoot themselves up the medal table.

Three gold medals in the space of about an hour sees Scotland sit just behind England.Brilliant efforts by the Scots! Time to roll out of the Scottish flag

Gold for Canada in the pool!

19:32 Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Ryan Cochrane has retained his men's 400m freestyle title after a scintillating last 50m saw him surge past world number one David McKeon of Australia.

McKeon had led from the starting gun and looked on his way to picking up Commonwealth gold but the Canadian showed his quality and grit by reeling in his opponent and touching home in a time of 3:43:46.

England's James Guy came home third while the three Scots in the final Robbie Renwick, Stephen Milne and Daniel Wallace miss out in adding to the hosts medal tally.

Double success for the Renicks in the judo

19:30 In the bronze medal fights India claimed another medal with victory for Kaipana Thoudan while, in the other bout, Northern Ireland won their first medal of Glasgow 2014 thanks to Lisa Kearney.

19:27 She's done it! It's a double for the Renicks sisters as Louise clinches win over Edwards. Suddenly the Brownlee brothers gold and silver looks a bit less special...

Another snatch of the Spandau Ballet boys "Gold". A special occasion deserves a special song, I am sure you would agree

19:22 The other half of the Renicks' sister act is up on the tatami now. Can Louise emulate little sister Kimberley in the under 52kg final where she is facing England's Kelly Edwards?Wouldn't like to be Edwards in this atmosphere...

Scottish gold in the pool

19:20 And there it is the inevitable din as Miley touches home first in a new Commonwealth Games record time of 4:31.76.

Silver goes to Aimee Willmott of England whilst Australia's Keryn McMaster takes bronze

19:19: Miley looks like she just has the edge with 25m to go!

19:18 The crowd are going wild as they turn for home here and it is quite literally stroke for stroke.

19:15 The Tollcross International Swimming Centre is "a cresecndo of noise as two-time Olympian Miley is just ahead of England's Aimee Wilmott as the swimmers reach the halfway point" according to reporter Gary Anderson.

Wilmott has squeaked ahead of her Great Britain team mate with both well ahead of the chasing pack.

Time for the pool!

"Well here we go at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre as the first swimming medals of the Commonwealth Games are about to be decided.
There are six finals up for decision including the women's 400m individual medley, men's 400m freestyle, women's 200m freestyle, men's 200m breaststroke and the women's 4x100m freestyle.
There is also one Para-sport event on the programme with the final of the men's 100m freestyle S9.
The women's 400m individual medley is the first race ready for the starter's gun and surprise, surprise the loudest cheer was reserved for Scotland's Hannah Miley as the swimmers are introduced."
- Our reporter Gary Anderson is poolside to bring all the action from the swimming.

Opening Ceremony viewing figures

19:05 Away from the sport for a minute and we have some increidble viewing figures from last night's Opening Ceremony (It was only last night?!)...

A peak audience of more than 9 million viewers watched the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on BBC1.

The lavish opening spectacle had an average of 7.6 million viewers (41.1 per cent) between 8pm and 11.40pm on Wednesday with a five-minute high of 9.4 million at 9.30pm. It topped the peak of 8.9 million viewers who tuned into the opening ceremony the last time the Games were held in the UK, in Manchester in 2002, but could not match its average audience of 8.2 million.

Time differences meant the Glasgow opener was way ahead of the last two Commonwealth Games, held in Delhi in 2010, when the opening ceremony was watched by an average of 3 million viewers and a peak of 3.8 million, and Melbourne in 2006, which had an average of 1.3 million and peak of 2.2 million.‏

‎Closer to home and numbers are showing that almost two million Scots tuned in to watch the ceremony.

Figures show the peak viewing stats for Wednesday's spectacle was a total of 1.765 million people across Scotland. That accounted for 76 per cent of the viewers in Scotland watching TV during that period.

19:02 Back to the judo and The Flower of Scotland floats emotionally across the arena. Renicks does not even bother to try to stem the tears of joy.

McKenzie has been talking about how a scoreboard malfunction caused his final to be delayed for a few moments and how it affected him. "I'm just so chuffed all my hard work has paid off and hopefully I will be able to perform like that in major championships in the future," he told the BBC. "The technical problems were a little disruptive, but I kept my focus."

McKenzie was diaganosed with deficit hyperactivity disorder at age of 11 and became involved in judo at the age of 11 following a fight over a Charizard Pokémon card. He also appeared in and made it to the final of Celebrity Big Brother 10 in September 2012.

"Everyone has their own story I guess that mine is a little more interesting than most, but I want to be a role model for those kids with problems," he said. "We've all got problems."

That is a bit of an understatement as McKenzie has also suffered from a number of health problems. Besides AHD he has also had to wear a hearing aid, battled asthma, eczema and overcome after-effects of a heart operation at 18 months old.

The medal ceremony at the judo

Weightlifting gold

18:54 With all the drama from the judo and the cycling, a medal event from the weightlifting seems to have gone under the radar.

In the sports first medal event of the Games, the women's 48kg contest, India walked away with an impressive one two after Sanjita Khumukcham lifted an impressive 173kg.

Silver went to her team mate Mirabai Chanu Saikhom while Nigeria's Nkechi Opara took bronze

All the judo action

18:52 We have the medal ceremony now for Kimberley Renicks. The place is about to rock...

A piper leads the medallists. Renicks cannot stop beaming.

18:48 Ashley McKenzie, the first Briton eliminated at London 2012, has enjoyed these Games much more by claiming victory in the under 60kg final over Navjot Chana. A little skip and twirl of the fingers as he departs the tatami shows just how delighted he is.

Spandau Ballet's "Gold" blasts across the arena to celebrate McKenzie's win.

18:45 A little reaction from Renicks after she won Scotland's first gold medal in the judo earlier on this evening.

"I am so happy," she told the BBC.

"I wanted to set the team off on a great start. It is great to be that first gold. It is unbelievable, hopefully my sister Louise can do the same and we can make it a family double. The crowd just make you believe that you can do it."

18:39 Buchanan's performance was particularly remarkable as the 38-year-old, who represented Britain in the Olympics at Sydney 2000, had retired in 2004. It was the lure of competing in front of a home crowd that tempted him back.

18:35 Earlier in that women's under 48kg category in the bronze medal contests, Amy Meyer of Australia defeated Barbados fighter Onoh-Obasi Okey on shido penalties, while compatriot Chloe Rayner beat Marcelle Monabang of Cameroon with a waza-ari hip throw score.

18:28 It's going tartan crazy at the judo! John Buchanan has just claimed a bronze medal with victory over South Africa's Daniel LeGrange in the under 60kg category.

First gold for Scotland

18:23 Scotland has just won its first gold medal of Glasgow 2014 thanks to Kimberley Renicks in judo at the SECC. She won the under 48kg category with an ippon after 1min 24sec against India's Shushla Likmaban to send the crowd into a wild frenzy.

Her sister Louise will be fighting in the final of the under 52kg later. So after England's Brownlees finished one-two in the men's triathlon earlier they could be trumped by a pair of Scots lassies claiming a gold medal each.

18:20 As the medal ceremonies play out at the Velodrome it's time to turn our attention elsewhere.

In judo, England are guaranteed four medals on day one of Glasgow 2014 after Ashley McKenzie, Kelly Edwards, Colin Oates and Nekoda Davis all fought their way to gold-medal matches.

McKenzie will fight Indian Navjot Chana in the under 60kg final and Edwards the home hope of Louise Renicks in the under 52kg. Oates will face Cyprus' Andreas Krassas in the under 66kg and Nekoda Davis another Scottish opponent in Stephanie Inglis in the under 57kg.

All the action is being watched by our very own Editor Duncan Mackay so we'll bring you all the action there as and when it happens.

Track cycling medals action - Meares takes fifth Commonwealth Games gold

18:14 Absolutely exhilarating stuff here inside the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. A motion shared by none other than UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl.

"They were great performances by the Australian and New Zealand teams. Judging these races there's just nothing in it.

"[I'm] A bit disappointed that we didn't take gold in a couple of them races but Thornhill's win was brilliant."

"It's a great atmosphere in here and just great to watch."

18:12 And New Zealand take it! Another Commonwealth record of 43.181, England just behind in 43.706.

18:11 And they're off, massive cheers from the crowd.

18:09 A Slight problem with one of England's bikes, but the countdown restarts.

18:09 New Zealand set a Commonwealth record in qualifying if you remember. This should be good...

18:05 Now it's the turn of Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Kian Emadi for England and Sam Webster, Dawkins and Eddie Ethan Mitchell for New Zealand.

The two team's take the track...

18:02: Hart, Perkins and Glaetzer line up for defending champions Australia and seal the bronze in 43.709. That was a much better time for the Aussie's than we saw in qualifying earlier today.

18:00 There are still medals up for grabs on the track as we get ready for the men's team sprint finals.

First up will be the bronze-medal match between Australia and Canada before England take on the Kiw's for gold.

17:56 Everyone is on their feet inside the Velodrome as the National Anthem of England blasts out over the speaker to celebrate Sophie Thornhill's gold medal, she's joined at the top of the podium by her racing partner Helen Scott.

17:52 Brilliant performance by the boys in green and gold. They took an early lead and never looked like losing it.

England finish with silver as they just fall outside four minutes whilst New Zealand take bronze. Medal ceremony to follow...

17:50 They've done it! A new Commonwealth record of 3:54.851 and Australia are the champions!

17:49 The teams almost share a straight now as the Aussies continue to fly. Australia look well on their way to wining the gold as England drop down to three riders.

17:48 The crowd are urging on the English team but they are falling further behind. the Aussie lead creeping nearer to two seconds. Australia are down to three riders but are two and a half seconds up.

17:47 And they're off!!! early lead for the Aussie's and it looks to be increasing here. The Australian team are flying! almost one and a half seconds up.

17:45 Coming up next is the one we've all been waiting for as the English quartet take on the green and gold of Australia. Racing for England we have Sir Bradley Wiggins, Steven Burke, Ed Clancy and Andy Tennant, and for the Aussie's Jack Bobridge, Luke Davison, Alex Edmondson and Glenn O'Shea.

Australia are the reigning Commonwealth and world championships in this event whilst England will be hoping to recover from their disappointing performance at the World Championships in Cali earlier this year

Huge cheer goes up for Sir Bradley as the teams take to the track

17:40 It's medals time once again inside the Velodrome with the men's 4,000m team pursuit bronze medal final. Here the teams from Canada and New Zealand will go head to head. And the bronze medal goes to New Zealand.

17:33 We've been talking a lot about Alistair Brownlee as an all ti17:45me sporting great. Well, what about Anna Meares? Two Olympic and 10 world titles in addition to her five Commonwealth Games gongs.

And like Brownlee with Javier Gomez, not to mention Jonathan, Meares has also had a great rival for most of her career, in the form of the now-retired Victoria Pendleton.

And she also has a sporty sibling, in the two-time Commonwealth Games champion at Manchester 2002, Kerrie.

@insidethegames The Waughs and The Charltons sprint to mind. The Meares sisters.
- Martin McEvoy has highlighted the Meares among other great sporting siblings.

Anna Meares wins her fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal ©AFP/Getty Images

Anna Meares wins her fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal ©AFP/Getty Images

17:21 England's Sophie Thornhill has taken gold here inside the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome as she beats Scotland's Aileen McGlynn over two legs in what is the first Para-cycling gold medal of these Games!

So that is gold for England, bronze for Australia, and, sandwiched in between, a silver medal for Scotland, the first for the host nation at these Games!

17:18 Straight on to the tandem finals - we will reflect on the achievement of Meares in a moment!

O'Connor takes the second race in the women's sprint B tandem and seals the bronze medal. Very tight race there! Sophie Thornhill of England and McGlynn of Scotland now take to the track for the gold medal with Thornhill 1-0 from the opening race.

17:15 And it's a Commonwealth Games record and the gold medal for Anna Meares as she finishes in 33.435, Williamson is all the way down in seventh with 35.465.

So to round up that pulsating action, Australian Flagbearer Anna Meares defends her Commonwealth title in first with compatriot Stephanie Morton in second and England's Jess Varnish in third. Wow. What a contest!

17:12 Varnish and Morton have taken the top two now with the Aussie jumping to the top of the pile in a time of 34.079 and Varnish just behind in 34.267. Our last two competitors are ready to go now and it's Australian powerhouse Anna Meares alongside England's Vicky Williamson

17:10 All go now. It's the penultimate race in this women's 500m time trial final with England's Jess Varnish and Australia's Stephanie Morton on the track. Leading the way at the minute is New Zealand's Stephanie McKenzie in a time of 34.444 while Malaysia's Fatehah Mustapa and England's Danni Khan make up the top three

Paul Osborne

There's a break in the women's sprint b tandem finals now. A break filled nicely by the women's 500m time trial finals. This event sees two riders on the track at a time with each riding against the clock. There are 14 riders in this competition over seven heats
- Paul Osborne on the scene at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome

Yorkshire top of the medals table?

17:09 You can check out the actual medals table here.

Looks like Yorkshire's form in the @Olympics has been carried into @Glasgow2014... @AliBrownleetri @jonny_brownlee
- Did England or Yorkshire just win those two triathlon medals? Welcome to Yorkshire have also posted a picture...

Are Yorkshire the best sporting region in the Commonwealth? ©Twitter

Are Yorkshire the best sporting region in the Commonwealth? ©Twitter

Medal action in triathlon and cycling - Alistair Brownlee wins gold!

17:02 Comparable brothers in sport? Mark and Steve Waugh in cricket, Gary and Phil Neville in football, Bob and Mike Bryan in tennis? Other suggestions to @insidethegames

Duncan Mackay new

"Is this best performance by siblings in a Commonwealth Games since Ian Stewart won gold in the 5,000 metres for Scotland at Edinburgh in 1970 and brother Peter finished fourth?"
- insidethegames editor Duncan Mackay produces another gem of a historical comparison. Philip Barker, the stage is yours...

16:55 A quite superb performance by Alistair. He has barely been at his best since winning the Olympic title two years ago, but the 2009 and 2011 world champion is virtually unbeatable when at his best.

I very much doubt if Spain's world champion Javier Gómez could have matched him today.

16:51 Alistair Brownlee takes the gold medal for an England triathlon double! Brother Jonathan comes second and then there is a race for bronze.

Jonathan collapses into a wheelchair - he is okay - before looking up to see South African Richard Murray cross the line in third. That is the first African medal at a major triathlon championships, believe it or not.

16:50 Alistair Brownlee takes the flag and he is waltzing to the line.

16:49 We are focusing on the triathlon finale for the time being, but Paul Osborne is keeping us up to date with action in at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

It's the women's sprint B Tandem Finals now and the first opportunity for our Para-riders to claim a medal. Up first is Bradie O'Connor against Australian compatriot Felicity Johnson in the bronze-medal race. The women's sprint B tandem finals is a best of three competition with races alternating between the bronze medal final of Bradie O'Connor and Felecity Johnson, and the gold-medal final between Sophie Thornhil and Aileen McGlynn. The first rounds go to O'Connor and Thornhill.
- Paul Osborne is witnessing the first Paralympic medal events.

Daley to dive in synchros

Diving megastar @TomDaley1994 has arrived and is ready for @Glasgow2014 #TeamEngland
- Commonwealth Games England hail the arrival of the diving superstar

After previously not having a partner, it has also been confirmed that Daley will team up with 20-year-old James Denny for the 10m synchronised event next Friday (August 1)

Brownlee battling Brownlee for second English triathlon gold on day one

16:40 Brownlee senior leads Brownlee junior by 13 seconds at the bell. He still looks majestic.

I think I was a little premature suggesting Jonathan could be caught for second though. He is one minute and 12 seconds ahead of Murray.

16:37 Alistair Brownlee still leads at Strathclyde Country Park. Daniel Halksworth of Jersey has been overhauled by South African Richard Murray in the battle for bronze. Jonathan Brownlee does look tired, could he be caught for silver?

New Zealand to face England for team sprint cycling title

Paul Osborne

"Huge cheers for the Scottish team as they complete the three laps of this men's team sprint in 45.501 seconds. That time puts them in second behind the Canadian trio but that could soon change as the Aussies make their way to the track... Australia are the defending champions from Delhi in this event, of course, and they duly take the lead. The crowd then goes crazy as the Team England trio of Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Kian Emadi set a Commonwealth Games record of 43.730. But that record didn't last long as New Zealand go almost half a second quicker in 43.254. That means England and New Zealand will battle it out for gold while Australia and Canada go for bronze. Unfortunately for the host nation, however, they will not be have the opportunity to re-live the efforts of Chris Hoy and his team from Melbourne 2006."
- Paul Osborne provides an update on the team sprint cycling qualifying.

16:29 Brownlee senior now has a five second lead over brother Jonathan. This certainly proves he was right to abandon his attempt to compete over 10,000m on the track here in Glasgow as well.

The way he is running he might have coped, but surely it was better to do as he has, and focus on being at his best over the three disciplines today.

He will compete in the mixed relay though, along with the likes of Jonathan, Jodie Stimpson and Vicky Holland. I wonder who the favourites will be in that event?

16:27 But Alistair Brownlee is quashing our speculation. He has broken clear!

Could the Brownlee brothers try to stage manage a dead-heat here like American Dick Beardsley and Norwegian Inge Simonsen did in the first-ever London Marathon, way back in 1981? They did that at the Blenheim Triathlon in June 2012 as they celebrated Alistair's first competitive race following a three-month break due to an Achilles tendon injury. But after that - and going into London 2012 - the International Triathlon Union warned the Brownlee's they must not try to share victory and if they did, they would both forfeit their races.
- insidethegames editor Duncan Mackay is speculating on how the Brownlee's will toy with the field.

16:22 The Brownlee's have a 59 second lead as they begin the run. Marc Austin has been swallowed up by the pack.

16:20 I have already bored my insidethegames colleagues going on about this, but back in 2005, my school, Marling, beat a Bradford Grammar team containing both Alistair and Jonathan into second place at the King Henry VIII National Schools Cross Country Relays in Coventry. I was second reserve that day...

16:15 Surely among the greatest set of brothers in the history of sport, the Brownlee boys have provided a triathlon lesson today. And they haven't finished yet. Their strongest event is still to come...

Alastair and Jonathan Brownlee lead the way ©Getty Images

Alastair and Jonathan Brownlee lead the way ©Getty Images

16:05 Marc Austin has been dropped. He is 19 seconds adrift of the irresistible red and white force that is the Brownlee brothers with one cycling lap to go. The crowd are a little muted as they whizz past, just a little.

Austin finished third at the European Youth Olympics and European Junior Championships last year, so is certainly a big hope for the future, whatever happens today.

Paul Osborne

Men's team sprint qualifier just about to to get underway here in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. The crowds are growing, the atmosphere is boiling and the first team on the track are Bangladesh! There are nine teams in all for this competition and it looks to be a thrilling contest
- Reporter Paul Osborne has checked in at the cycling for the evening session.

15:58 Back at the triathlon, the leading trio are one minute and one second ahead of a huge chasing bunch. Alistair Brownlee is requesting Marc Austin to do more of the work. "It'll help your chances of staying ahead on the run," he will be saying.

The chasing group includes Richard Murray, who is more than capable of making up a minute over 10km on most triathletes. The Brownlee brothers are not most triathletes, however...

15:54 Plenty more gold medals to be won this afternoon, but just a reminder that the first of the Games was secured by Jodie Stimpson of England in the women's triathlon. Our report on her victory can be read here.

Incidentally, we have just been told that the podiums on which Stimpson and so many others will receive their medals were all crafted, we have just been told, out of fallen trees in and around the city.

Jodie Stimpson being awarded the first gold of the Games ©Getty Images

Jodie Stimpson being awarded the first gold of the Games ©Getty Images

15:48 No one knows much about Marc Austin in the press room, but the feeling is: if somebody ranked 21st in the Commonwealth can stick with the Brownlee brothers in the swim and the bike, then he cannot be a particularly good runner...

That view may be underestimating the impact of the home support, however.

15:44 Halfway through the bike section, the leading trio are increasing their lead in the men's triathlon. And with every pedal, the chances of a shock first Scottish medal of the Games for Marc Austin must be increasing. His legs must be burning but the roar he is getting every time he passes the stand must be helping him so much.

I don't want to diminish his hopes - and he has a fantastic chance of taking bronze - but this race has got a Brownlee 1-2 written all over it. And when they both do well, Alastair tends to have the beating of Jonathan...

Rod Stewart following his performance at the Opening Ceremony

I never thought I'd be able to stand in the Celtic Board Room in front of the trophy case. . . with no pants.
- Rod Stewart is clearly still on a high from his performance last night.

Rod Stewart posing in his beloved Celtic Park ©Twitter

Rod Stewart posing in his beloved Celtic Park ©Twitter

15:37 It's not going as well for South Africa here in the men's triathlon though. Richard Murray is now a minute behind and Henri Schoeman has failed to regain contact with the leading trio after crashing into a hay bale earlier on.

What a performance this is by Marc Austin. He's only ranked 21st in this field, but he is hanging on with the Brownlee brothers at the moment.

15:34 South Africa have emphatically beaten Trinidad and Tobago 16-0 in the latest women's hockey encounter, to follow those wins for England and Australia earlier on.

The Queen has enjoyed a busy day

15:32 After visits to hockey and swimming action, The Queen went to the Athletes' Village for a sport of lunch, and was greeted by Village chieftain Shirley Addison on arrival.

The Queen is greeted by Village chieftain Shirley Addison during her visit to the Athletes Village ©Getty Images

The Queen is greeted by Village chieftain Shirley Addison during her visit to the Athletes Village ©Getty Images

15:28 The crowd are going wild because Scotland's Marc Austin is in a breakaway of four at the front, with the two Brownlee''s and Schoeman. A few riders, including Aaron Royle of Australia, are not far behind, but Richard Murray is in a group 45 seconds behind.

Oh, but Schoeman badly misjudges a corner and comes off. He is back though and trying to stay in contact...

15:20 Jonathan Brownlee leads the field out of the pool, followed by Henri Schoeman of South Africa and elder brother Alistair. Some of the other contenders have failed to stay with them though...

Sally Pearson pictured having lunch with The Queen ahead of athletics medals quest

15:10 London 2012 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson is meant to be doing the 100m as well in Glasgow, although there have been rumours she will withdraw from her less favoured event. She seems happy enough today in the Athletes' Village though, having lunch alongside other athletes, and The Queen.

The likes of Tiffany Porter of England will provide a stern test in the hurdles when athletics action gets underway in Hampden Park.

Australian 100m hurdles Olympic champion Sally Pearson in Glasgow ©Facebook

Australian 100m hurdles Olympic champion Sally Pearson in Glasgow ©Facebook

Aussies off to flying start in netball

Gary Anderson

Well, the first netball session at the SECC has come to an end with a comprehensive win for two-time champions Australia.
Despite getting huge support from their Celtic cousins inside the arena, Wales could not match the power and speed of their opponents eventually going down to a 63-36 defeat. Some consolation for Wales is that it was not as bad as the previous time these sides met in a Commonwealth Games when the score was 78-22 in the Aussies favour. Australia are next out when they take on England in a tasty encounter on Saturday while Wales will look to bounce back against Trinidad and Tobago.
- Reporter Gary Anderson seems to have enjoyed his first experience of netball

The end of the women's netball clash between Australia and Wales ©ITG

The end of the women's netball clash between Australia and Wales ©ITG

15:02 It is good timing as we are underway in the men's triathlon. The conditions remain almost as glorious as the atmosphere here, although I would be interested to know whether the 47 participants today would prefer these conditions, or the colder and wetter ones they may have come prepared for?

Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, the London 2012 gold and bronze medal winners, have gone off hard in the swim, as they always do.

With their big rival Javier Gómez of Spain obviously absent, it is hard to see the Yorkshire duo being beaten today. Although sprint specialist Richard Murray of South Africa did get the better of both of them in Hyde Park earlier this year. Aaron Royle of Australia is another contender.

15:00 There has been a change in the commentary box, so to speak, as Paul Osborne goes off for a well-deserved lunch after a marathon effort. And Nick Butler, slightly later than planned due to a few internet problems at Strathclyde Country Park, replaces him

14:55 We're going to bring you a round-up of all the sport going on in Glasgow now, on a busy opening afternoon here at the Commonwealth Games.

Two celebrities in Glasgow

Funny hair, peculiar dress sense, and a slightly alien-esque complexion, here is insidethegames editor Duncan Mackay with Clyde the Mascot...

I jest. On a very slightly more serious note, our Olympic and Commonwealth Games historian Philip Barker feels Clyde bears an uncanny resemblance with Kang and Kodos, the two aliens from The Simpsons. Who do you think Clyde looks like? Tweet @insidethegames

Getting friendly with the locals

14:45 As we announced on our Facebook page a couple of days ago, here at insidethegames we love the Games' friendly Scottish thistle, and official mascot, Clyde.

We've been travelling around Glasgow getting as many pictures as possible with our happy green friend and would love to see as many photo's of you with the big man himself.

So Tweet us, Facebook us or email us your favourite photo's with Clyde and we'll see if we can add them here on our live blog, or on one of of our social networking forums.

A little more on the triathlon

Vicky Holland celebrates with Jodie Holland after the women's triathlon race today ©Getty Images

Vicky Holland celebrates with Jodie Holland after the women's triathlon race today ©Getty Images

14:35 If you missed it earlier, or just happen to live under a rock, then you won't know that Jodie Stimpson picked up the first gold medal of Glasgow 2014 with a stunning performance in the women's triathlon.

Battling her all the way to the line was team mate Vicky Holland. Now the dust has begun to settle we've had chance to hear Vicky's reaction on today's race.

"I'm a bit overwhelmed. I said before the race that I was looking to make the top five and edging onto the podium was the very best I could hope for.

"I felt in control throughout the run and when my legs started to fail me with about a kilometre to go, I must have turned around 15 times to check no-one was coming up behind me. It just felt the longest stretch of road in the world.

"This is the best thing I've achieved. Qualifying for the Olympics was a huge deal for me and I'll always be able to call myself an Olympian and treasure that. But this is my biggest ever result, especially with Jodie getting the gold as well.

"It feels very poetic to win the first medals of the Games. You dream about this, about getting on the podium and to get a medal with Jodie makes it even more fantastic."

14:20 We've been a bit quiet on the netball front since our reporter Gary Anderson's brief history lesson. No, we didn't fall asleep, although many of you at home may have, but here's a little catch up on all the action from the man himself.

"It's half-time in the second game here at the SECC and Australia have made a strong start to their campaign.
After a close first quarter, which seen the sides separated by only a single point, the Australians have turned on the style in the second period.
Goal shooter Caitlin Bassett has been to the fore as she helped her side to a 32-17 lead at the midway point over Wales."

Dog spending area?

14:24 We don't think a dog spending area is where our four-legged friends go to buy Glasgow 2014 souvenirs...

Para-cycling

14:18 The first Para-cycling gold medal will be decided later today with England's Sophie Thornhilland Helen Scott against Scotland's Aileen McGlynn and Louise Haston in the tandem sprint final.

The English duo took on Australia's Felicity Johnson and Holly Takos in their semi-final encounter, winning 2-0, while McGlynn and Haston were also 2-0 winners over the other Australia pair Brandie O'Connor and Breanna Hargrave.

A Royal photobomb

14:08 Here's something you don't see everyday. It appears Her Majesty the Queen has photobombed a selfie by Team Australia hockey player Jayde Taylor.

Facebook logo

"Disappointed Mo not running in CWG. Suppose easier to win Europeans Glasgow will still be brill without :)"
- Scotland's Liz Lynch Nuttall, better known as Liz McColgan, winner of the women's Commonwealth Games 10,000m at Edinburgh 1986 and Auckland 1990, gives her view on Facebook on the withdrawal of Mo Farah.

Medal table

14:00 If you're not all that familiar with the insidethegames website, you'll be happy to know that we have an up to date medal table available for the duration of Glasgow 2014.

To take a look, simply click the "show table" icon in the top left hand side of the screen.

Enjoy...

13:57 We've had a number of Commonwealth records broken inside the Tollcross International Swimming Centre today.

One fell to the whim of England's 100m backstroker Chris Walker-Hebborn, here's his rather modest reaction.

"It's not a bad time, I went in feeling pretty good and to come out like that gives me a real buzz looking forward to the rest of the Games."

Clyde on the move

13:50 Look who we've bumped into strolling around the SECC. One person certainly looks the happier of the two to be having their photo taken...

Duncan on the radio

Timeline

About the author

Duncan Mackay Editor
Follow @Duncan_ITG

Duncan Mackay is the founding editor of insidethegames.biz, the world’s leading and most influential independent Olympic news website. He was voted the British Sports Writer of the Year in 2004, British News Story of the Year in 2004 and British Sports Internet Reporter of the Year in 2009. Mackay is one of Britain's best-connected journalists and during the 16 years he worked at The Guardian and The Observer he regularly broke several major exclusive stories. He was also the only newspaper journalist in Britain to correctly predict that London would win its bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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