The second half of the Commonwealth Games saw a start to athletics events, intense weightlifting and another gold medal for the Logan region.
The hero of the week was the Men’s Wheelchair 3×3 who claimed an epic victory over Canada – winning by only two points in the final minute of the game.
Logan’s Kurt Thomson made history as one of the first Men’s 3×3 wheelchair gold medallists after a massive campaign.
He has now joined Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea in the winners club, after she helped the Australian Pearls claim gold over Fiji in a thrilling final of the Rugby Sevens earlier in the Games.
Taneille Crase hit the ground running in Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Chambers Flat athlete was formidable during the opening day of the heptathlon, smashing three person-bests from four events; High Jump-1.78m (953), Shot Put-11.89m (654), 200m-24.48 (935), and 100m Hurdles – 13.42 (1062).
Crase, coached by Olympic legend Glynis Nunn, was quickly placed in contention for the bronze medal after her incredible performances but ultimately fell short on Wednesday, finishing in fifth place.
The 27-year-old heptathlete had taken an eight month break after she battled mentally and physically with severe injury in early 2020, making her comeback at the Games all the more sweet.
Earlier on Tuesday, Weightlifter Ebony Gorincu, 32, was left frustrated after missing out on a medal in the 76kg weight class, ultimately finishing sixth.
The former athletics sprinter and bobsledder, managed just one successful lift in the 76kg clean and jerk, while the judges surveyed her first lift of 113kg for several minutes before giving it the all-clear.
The John Paul College graduate appeared rattled in her attempt at 119kg, with the bar landing awkwardly on her chest in the clean movement, forcing her to drop the weight and quickly loosen her belt due to dizziness.
The Australian received medical attention but was unhurt.
Gorincu failed with her third and final lift, also at 119kg, for a total of 206 kg after reaching 93kg in the snatch.
It was a disappointing end to the debutant’s campaign, after setting her personal best of 94kg in the snatch at the Queensland Club Championships in July 2020, and clean & jerk (118kg) and total (209kg) at the Singapore International in February 2022.
In the badminton, the Yu Siblings shined in their respective mixed doubles teams in the early rounds.
Jack Yu, 17, and partner Kaitlyn Ea defeated Jamaica’s Samuel Ricketts and Tahlia Richardson 21-13 16-21 21-8 to reach the Commonwealth Games round of 16.
Angela Yu teamed up with Tram Phan and enjoyed back-to-back success.
The duo accounted for the Falkland Islands’ pair of Joshua Dwight and March Soraye 21-2 21-5, before a closer contest in the women’s doubles, where she teamed up with Kaitlyn Ea to ease home against the Maldives.
But the siblings’ luck ran out when Angela Yu and Pham fell to New Zealand’s Leydon-Davis and Pak 21-12 21-15, while Jack Yu and Ea lost to Malaysia’s Chan and Cheah 16-21 21-21.
After an intense couple weeks of competition, the Yus, who are the children of Olympian He Tian Tang, were finally pushed out of medal contention.
Logan’s Olympic Bronze Medal winning decathlete Ash Moloney, withdrew from the Games due to a recurring knee injury.
