Gold Coast 2018: Three Scottish medals on day six

Three medals came for Scotland on day six of the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

The trio of success means that Team Scotland now has 28 medals with five days left, one short of the 29 secured in Melbourne in 2006.

A silver and a bronze came for the shooters at the Belmont Shooting Centre in Brisbane.

Neil Stirton, competing in his fourth Commonwealth Games, made the final in the men’s 50m rifle prone alongside fellow Scot Lenny Thomson, with the pair qualifying fourth and fifth respectively.

In the final, Neil shot strongly to finish with a silver medal on 247.7; with Wales’ David Phelps taking gold with a Games record of 248.8. Lenny was eighth.

Stirton said: “This is my fourth Commonwealth Games. It’s great to still be doing it at 37. I’m absolutely over the moon to come out here and be competitive with the best in the world.

“I’ve known these guys for nearly 20 years and it’s great to have friends on both sides of the podium. I had a few loose shots in the middle and I think that cost me the gold, but I’m happy with the performance.”

Neil Stirton shooting silver

Earlier in the day, Ian Shaw and Sandy Walker competed in the Queen’s prize pairs.

Shaw, who already has a silver and bronze medal in the event from Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014 respectively, said of their bronze medal winning performance:  “It’s hard to put into words how I’m feeling right now. We’ve put in a lot of hard work over the last four years so it’s a fantastic achievement. It still hasn’t sunk in quite yet!

Walker added: “I’m ecstatic! We knew we were in with a chance, but getting to the bronze medal position was amazing. I’m so pleased to have got a medal at my first ever Games.

“Having Ian there and learning from his experience has been massively helpful.”

Sandy Walker and Ian Shaw shooting bronze

The swimming competition drew to a close at the Optus Aquatics Centre, with Team Scotland bagging one more medal courtesy of Duncan Scott, taking his own total to six.

Scott, 20, collected a silver in the men’s 200m IM.

Knowing his speed was at the back end of the race, Scott moved up a gear and powered down the final 25m, pushing eventual winner Mitch Larkin all the way.

Scott won silver in 1:57.86, a new personal best.

“There were loads of guys in that race who could have won it, or touched me out or been in the top three. It was a real battle, a real dog fight. I enjoyed it but it was tough,” he said.

Meanwhile, a notable mention for Scotland’s men’s basketball team who made it four wins out of four by beating Nigeria 66-61 in Cairns.

The journey of the Scotland underdogs now continues to Australia’s Gold Coast, with Team Scotland set to face hosts Australia on Saturday in the semi-finals of the competition.

Captain Kieron Achara said: “This is a surreal kind of feeling, one that was definitely worth the wait. This was our goal and we believed it – but to execute it is a totally different thing. It is a phenomenal achievement; the guys have played outstanding.”

Thanks to Team Scotland/Jeff Holmes for the photos