Hunter Bell cruises to Commonwealth Games gold, Pathirage stuns javelin stars

Australia's Nina Kennedy poses with her silver medal following the women's pole vault final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. (EPA Images pic)GLASGOW: Georgia Hunter Bell made the most of the absence of Keely Hodgkinson to cruise to 800m Commonwealth gold Friday as Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage stunned India's Neeraj Chopra to win javelin gold.World indoor champion and an Olympic bronze medallist at 1500m, Hunter Bell was in a class of her own at the shorter distance in Glasgow to claim gold for England.Olympic 800m champion Hodgkinson was one of a number of high-profile athletes who decided to skip the Commonwealth Games in favour of next month's European championships in Birmingham.Kenyan world champion Lilian Odira took silver ahead of Australia's Sarah Billings."My first ever Commonwealth Games, it's my first ever Commonwealth Games gold, first outdoor gold medal as well. It really means so much to me," said Hunter Bell."I had a really good attitude today.

It's really strange being an athlete because you can doubt yourself a lot, like through the rounds you've got to stay focused, you've got to be aware but you've also got to be confident."The javelin was billed a showdown between Chopra and Pakistan's Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem.But it was Pathirage, who honed his javelin power as a prodigious young cricket bowler, who stormed to victory by nearly four metres with a best effort of 89.75.Chopra took silver ahead of compatriot Yash Vir Singh, but Nadeem was well down in ninth.South Africa's Sinesipho Dambile broke the 20-second barrier to take 200m gold ahead of Nigeria's Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike and Jamaican Christopher Taylor.Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands stormed to gold in the women's 200m.Grenada's Lindon Victor made it three consecutive Commonwealth golds in the decathlon, matching English great Daley Thompson who won three golds between 1978 and 1986.Nigeria's Ezekiel Nathaniel, the third-fastest athlete in the world this year, won the men's 400m hurdles title.Jamaica's Sanique Walker needed a new personal best of 54 seconds flat to win women's 400m hurdles gold.New Zealand's Eliza McCartney upset Australia's Nina Kennedy to win the women's pole vault.Both women successfully cleared 4.65 metres, but the Kiwi took the title having made fewer failures at the previous heights.Tuvalu's bizarre first medalAustralia picked…