It has been an exciting start to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, with many locals likely not to have experienced the atmosphere in the city before. While one of the best locations to watch the live action can be found at Victoria Square, on day five, all the attention will be Alexander Stadium, as the live action at the recently redeveloped stadium.
Athletics Gets Underway At Commonwealth Games
The main action on Day 5 will see the athletics finally get underway, as Alexander Stadium hosts its first live action since being redeveloped. Six gold medals will be up for grabs on the opening night at the stadium, which includes the T33/34 100m and men’s T45-47 100m. The men will also be in action in the 10,000m, while women’s discus and pole vault gold medals will also be handed out.
As always, there will be English attention when it comes to the main medal hopes, with Olympic bronze winner, Holly Bradshaw competing in the pole vault. Meanwhile, Sophie Hahn and Hannah Cockroft also lead the hopes of the home nations at Alexander Stadium. A megastar of the athletics world will also be in action at the stadium on opening night, as Uganda’s recently crowned world champion, Joshua Cheptegei, looks to successfully defend the Commonwealth title he won four years ago.
Peaty Leads English Hopes In The Pool
It is also the penultimate day at Sandwell Aquatics Centre for the swimming, as world superstar Adam Peaty will be looking to get his hands on the only gold medal that has evaded him throughout his career. The world record holder over 50m breaststroke qualified as second-quickest for the finals, and will be looking to get back on track after finishing back in fourth over 100m over the weekend.
In total, five home nation swimmers will be involved in the final, including England’s James Wilby and Scotland’s pair Ross Murdoch and Craig Benson. Elsewhere in the pool, there are further medals up for grabs in the men’s 100m butterfly and the mixed 4x100m medley relay.
3×3 Basketball Medals To Be Won
3×3 Basketball has been a part of the Commonwealth schedule for the first time this summer, and its success has been evident given how difficult it has been to get tickets throughout the competition. However, the action draws to a close on Tuesday, with all four gold medal matches to be played between 4:30 and 10:00.
England’s men and women are both bidding to win the gold medals, while the women’s wheelchair bronze medal match will see England taking on Scotland. A pulsating week of action in the 3×3 Basketball promises to deliver a rush of medals for the hosts.
Joe Fraser Looking For More Success
As a local boy, Joe Fraser has experienced more support than most throughout the gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games this summer. He will need every inch of that support on day five, as he looks to win more gold in the parallel bars and men’s horizontal bar finals. Fraser won a second gold of the games on Monday, but both he, and James Hall are carrying injuries coming into the day of action on Tuesday.
However, neither should be ruled out when it comes to winning the gold. Alice Kinsella is another that calls the Midlands home, and she will be looking for a second success in the beam final after winning gold on the Gold Coast four years ago. However, Aussie Georgie Godwin and England’s Georgia-Mae Fenton will also be looking to win the top prize.
