Brownlee brothers ease England to 1st mixed relay triathlon gold


(MENAFN- Arab Times) ASGOW July 26 (Agencies): Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee and brother Jonny helped England secure gold in the first ever mixed relay triathlon at the Commonwealth Games on Saturday. Vicky Holland and Jodie Stimpson joined the Brownlees around Strathclyde Country Park and they showed their class as they finished in a time of one hour 13 minutes 24 seconds. South Africa were 49 seconds behind to take silver just ahead of Australia who claimed bronze one second adrift in third. 'It's fantastic' Alistair who won gold in the men's triathlon on Thursday told the BBC. 'I knew I could run alright butI was determined to win it on the bike.' Holland was first to tackle the 250 metre swim 6km bike ride and 1.6km run before handing over to younger Brownlee Jonny silver medallist behind his brother in the individual event. He gave England a comfortable 16 second lead over of the rest of the field. Stimpson who won the first gold of the Games in the women's triathlon earlier in the week was pegged back by New Zealand's Nicky Samuels but Alistair romped home on the final leg to take victory for England and claim his second gold of the Games. 'It was a good race it was always close or at least it was until the last leg' Jonny said. 'Vicky gave us a good start I just had to keep it safe Jodie destroyed it and then Alistair finished it off.' Meanwhile almost immediately after Usain Bolt landed in Scotland the level of hero worship afforded to him demonstrated just how important the sprint star's participation is to the Commonwealth Games. The Jamaican has never raced before at the Commonwealths and his slow recovery from a foot injury had put this appearance in doubt.   Despite skipping the individual sprints Bolt insists he will honor a commitment to enter the relay both the heat and a probable final. 'I am here to run' the six-time Olympic champion said on Saturday fresh from the airport. 'I will be running definitely.' Bolt seemed affronted to be asked if there would be a late withdrawal like distance runner Mo Farah who has the same management representation. 'That's a very weird question' Bolt said burying his head in his hands in disbelief. 'Yes I am here to run I don't see why else I would travel all this way to Glasgow.'   It was a rare probing inquiry at a news conference in Glasgow attended by many giddy reporters seemingly there to pay homage to the world's fastest man and leave with personal mementos. Even for a Bolt briefing the level of sycophancy was high as futile attempts were made to present him with a kilt and pose for selfies. 'I have to be honest' one Australian reporter said to Bolt from the floor of the conference room. 'None of us are here for work we are actually here as fans. We were wondering if we could get a Channel Ten selfie with you.'   The request was quickly and politely rebuffed and the awkwardness was broken by a question on Bolt's troublesome left foot. 'The injury has completely gone fitness wise I've done a lot of training over the past month' he said. 'I've been really pushing myself and I'm in pretty good shape but I'm not yet in running shape hence why I'm running the heats just to get a few runs in. 'I won't be doing a lot of races this season just four. I'm just taking my time trying to get myself into running shape but not to push myself too much and then get injured again. I'm focused on just getting through the season.'   Bolt's appearance on the Hampden Park track in the 4x100 relay heats on Friday will be his first competitive action all year. A hamstring injury prevented Bolt appearing at the 2006 Melbourne Games and the logistically troubled Delhi Games were badly timed for him in October 2010.   CGames Medals Table Gold Silver Bronze Total England 12 11 9 32 Australia 11 9 12 32 Scotland 7 3 5 15 Canada 4 1 4 9 India 3 4 3 10 New Zealand 2 2 4 8 Cyprus 1 1 1 3 Nigeria 1 0 1 2 Singapore 1 0 0 1 Wales 0 3 3 6 South Africa 0 2 5 7 Malaysia 0 1 1 2 Bangladesh 0 1 0 1 Cameroon 0 1 0 1 Jamaica 0 1 0 1 Papua New Guinea 0 1 0 1 Sri Lanka 0 1 0 1 Ghana 0 0 1 1 N. Ireland 0 0 1 1 Samoa 0 0 1 1 Zambia 0 0 1 1


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