GLASGOW, Scotland // Usain Bolt landed his first Commonwealth Games gold medal by anchoring Jamaica to 4 x 100 metres glory at Hampden Park.
The world’s fastest man ended his controversial stay in Glasgow by powering down the home straight to bring his team home in 37.58 seconds, a Games record.
The 27-year-old would have had every reason to grumble about the weather on Saturday night after rain hammered down and puddles littered the track, but he received the baton in the lead and powered away to the roars of the crowd.
England took a hugely impressive silver, their quartet of Adam Gemili, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Richard Kilty and Danny Talbot producing three slick changeovers as they held off Trinidad and Tobago, clocking 38.02secs.
Nicola Adams has advanced the cause of women’s boxing more than anyone, but yesterday she was given a timely reminder of the precarious nature of her status as women’s flyweight No 1.
Adams added a Commonwealth Games gold medal to her historic triumph at London 2012 – the first women’s gold in boxing – but only after being given a scare by 21-year-old Northern Ireland flyweight Michaela Walsh, winning on points in a split decision.
Walsh won the first and fourth rounds on two of the three judges’ cards and showed skills strong enough in Glasgow to suggest she could go one better and be the one to deny Adams a repeat Olympic triumph in two years.
It is a situation Adams insists she welcomes.
“Everybody is coming for me now because I am the No 1 in the world, and I have got to expect that everybody who gets through those ropes wants to beat me,” she said.
“I think it was a really close contest but I think I did enough to win. I think Michaela is a very good talent, and she will come again and we will be seeing a lot more from her in the future.”
Walsh was in tears on the podium having insisted moments after her triumph that it was Adams’s reputation alone that had made the difference on the judges’ scorecards.
Adams said: “I’ve been in that situation when I wanted to win the world title and only got silver. I worked hard for it and it just wasn’t my time, but my time was at the Olympics.”
The 31-year-old Olympic champion was simply too classy for Walsh, who will go home with a deserved silver medal after a promising week of performances.
But remarkably the three ringside judges did not quite see the fight the same way with one scoring in favour of Walsh as Adams triumphed only via split decision.
Walsh said: “I wanted it more and I feel in my heart that I won it but she’s the Olympic champion, and she was going to win it if it was close.
“But my coach knows and I know and she will know, if she watches the fight again, that I got it.
“Today is the start of my career. I came here for the gold and in my heart I know I got the gold medal. But I proved I am up at that level and I really believe that fight was mine.”
Adams’s next event is the world championships in South Korea this year where she will bid to complete a clean sweep of the major honours, having previously had to settle for a trio of silvers.
“It’s about time I got a gold,” said Adams. “Then I’m looking forward to Rio and I can’t wait to get going. I hope I make history again by becoming a double Olympic champion which we’ve never had in boxing in Britain.
“But this medal in Glasgow is up there with my Olympic gold. It’s really nice to be able to compete for your country and I was glad I was able to do that today.”
Northern Ireland’s Paddy Barnes retained his Commonwealth Games light-flyweight title by outpointing India’s Devendro Laishram.