England’s Jodie Stimpson claimed the first gold of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after winning the women’s triathlon.
Stimpson, 25, pulled away from Canada’s Kirsten Sweetland – who won silver – and fellow England athlete Vicky Holland who grabbed bronze to clinch the first major individual title of her career.
The Leicester-born athlete finished in a time of one hour 58 minutes and 56 seconds at Glasgow’s Strathclyde Park to kick-start the Games.
“I have to thank so many people who got me through this year, and it is awesome to share the podium with Vicky, it is really special,” Stimpson told BBC Sport.
“Get in England! Come on! Now the boys have got to do it. This is not just my medal, coach Darren Smith, who put up with me for so long – thank you so much. The support from the crowd was awesome, no matter what country you were from they were behind you.
“All my family are already crying, it’s awesome they got to see me in a championship race after missing the Olympics in 2012.”
Holland added: “I’m a bit overwhelmed. I said before the race that I was looking to make the top five and edging onto the podium was the very best I could hope for.
“I felt in control throughout the run and when my legs started to fail me with about a kilometre to go, I must have turned around 15 times to check no-one was coming up behind me. It just felt the longest stretch of road in the world.
“This is the best thing I’ve achieved. Qualifying for the Olympics was a huge deal for me and I’ll always be able to call myself an Olympian and treasure that. But this is my biggest ever result, especially with Jodie getting the gold as well.
“It feels very poetic to win the first medals of the Games. You dream about this, about getting on the podium and to get a medal with Jodie makes it even more fantastic.”
Brother Alastair and Jonny Brownlee are expected to add to England’s success in the event in the men’s triathlon later in the afternoon.
