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Commonwealth Games 2018: Kookaburras, Opals win gold, Von Hoff does the incredible

The Kookaburras and Opals won gold on a strong day for Australia at the Commonwealth Games, highlighted by the incredible story behind cyclist Steele Von Hoff’s road race win.

Von Hoff broke six vertebrae in his neck and back just seven weeks ago but surprised even himself with a gutsy win that set the tone for a day littered with Australian success.

A further nine gold medals came on ‘Super Saturday’ as Australia’s flagbearer at the opening ceremony, hockey captain Mark Knowles, was sent out a winner.

Playing his last match before retirement, Knowles helped the Kookaburras record a 2-0 win over New Zealand that came thanks to goals from Aaron Kleinschmidt and Matthew Dawson.

“It was a beautiful night. Couldn’t have scripted it … I’m so proud,” Knowles told the Seven Network.

“I’m pretty ecstatic … I love the game and I think I leave it in a pretty good place right now in Australia.”

Kookaburras Hockey

The Kookaburras begin the celebrations. Photo: Getty

The Hockeyroos could not win gold, though, beaten 4-1 by New Zealand in the women’s decider.

Australia’s women’s basketball team had star player Liz Cambage ejected but still coasted to a 99-55 success against England in the gold medal match.

Cambage was sent off after an exchange of words with officials, but Kelsey Griffin and Cayla George picked up the slack with 16 points each.

The men’s basketball team, the Boomers, also won easily, thrashing Scotland 103-46 to book a gold medal clash against Canada on Sunday.

The Von Hoff story

Von Hoff was so determined to race at the Games that even after an extremely serious crash, he kept on training.

“Things were looking a bit grim but I didn’t want to give up,” he told News Corp.

He spent just six days off the bike, using a stationary one that he could lie down in to keep his legs ticking over.

After a couple of weeks, he was back out on the road and it culminated with gold in a thrilling bunch finish.

“The reaction of the crowd told me I’d got the gold … the realisation will probably hit tonight that I’ve actually done it,” he said afterwards.

Australia also took gold in the women’s road race, won by Chloe Hosking.

Other golds

The boxing finals brought about three golds for Australia as 20-year-old Victorian plumber Harry Garside beat Manish Kaushik on points to send a big crowd at Oxenford Studios wild.

Harry Garside

Garside could not hide his delight. Photo: Getty

Anja Stridsman (women’s 60kg) and Skye Nicolson (women’s 57kg) also triumphed, while Donna Urquhart and Cameron Pilley linked up to win the mixed doubles squash event, defeating India 11-8 11-10.

Australia claimed its first gold in table tennis at the Commonwealth Games as Melissa Tapper won the TT6-10 singles event and Domonic Bedggood wrapped up a huge day of success in the men’s 10m platform diving.

Relay struggles for Australia

At Carrara Stadium, Hamish Peacock and Nicola McDermott won medals on a busy day of athletics action.

Peacock won silver in the men’s javelin after throwing a personal best 82.59 metres while McDermott also recorded a career-high mark when she cleared 1.91 metres to win bronze in the women’s high jump.

Nicola McDermott Australia

Nicola McDermott’s personal best came at the right time. Photo: Getty

Australia’s relay teams had no joy, with the men’s 4 x 100m relay team finishing fourth despite being second at the final change, while the women’s team in the same event was disqualified for a lane cross.

England won both 4 x 100 m relays, with Zharnel Hughes – the runner who was initially awarded the men’s 200m sprint before having it stripped for making contact with a rival – finally getting his gold.

A mixed bag

Massive crowds attended day two of the Rugby Sevens at Robina Stadium, too, but while Australia’s women – who are Olympic champions – remain in gold medal contention, the men are not.

The women’s side scraped past Fiji 17-10 to maintain their unbeaten record while the men, who played three times, beat Samoa and Jamaica but lost 26-17 to England.

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