Commonwealth Games 2022 LIVE: Anna Henderson is among England’s cycling medal hopes

There’s a lot more happening too. There are four gold medals up for grabs in para-powerlifting (two men’s, two women’s) at the NEC, where Scotland’s Micky Yule will hope to beat two fourth-place finishes in the men’s heavyweight division at the last two Commonwealth Games.

Cricket near the semi-finals with the final two group games being played in Edgbaston today – can New Zealand beat England, who have ruled out captain Heather Knight for the remainder of the competition to top Group B? The loser of tonight’s game (from 6pm BST) meets Australia in the last four.

From 11.00CET the home nations will meet on the ice hockey rink as the women of Wales and England meet.

We’re swapping pools at Sandwell Aquatics Center today, with swim events all tied up and divers jumping, spinning and somersaulting to join the fray. There are two medals up for grabs today: England’s Jack Laugher is aiming for a third consecutive 1m springboard crown to continue his fine career, while Andrea Spendolni-Sirieix is ​​one of Britain’s best springboard prospects. She’s bidding for a medal on the high board tonight, in a field that seems reasonably open.

There will be no rest on day seven of the Commonwealth Games as another busy program has to be kept up in and around Birmingham. After yesterday’s mountain bike twists and turns through Cannock Chase Forest, the cycling action continues on the roads of the Black Country and Staffordshire with some of the world’s best donning their aerosuits and grooved helmets against the clock to compete for time trial glory . Can Geraint Thomas improve on his 2014 bronze medal? In the Tour de France he showed good legs.

There’s always some pressure on the world’s top athletes, but when you’re the daughter of perhaps Scotland’s greatest long-distance runner of all time, the expectation tends to come with territory. However, it has proved quite difficult for Eilish McColgan to live up to her mother Liz’s extraordinary record as the far-flung Scot traveled up and down the distances in search of triumph.

It all finally came together last night. The younger McColgan put on what was probably her best run of all time, adding a third 10,000m title at the Commonwealth Games to the family collection. McColgan was able to hug 1986 and 1990 champion Liz at the side of the track, a hug that brought a “tear to the eyes” of Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister – and many others too.

A live DJ set, flashing bracelets and a home lifter of the highest caliber – the NEC was the place to be yesterday afternoon as Emily Campbell, who carried the English flag at the opening ceremony, broke the British and Commonwealth Games records and secured victory in the women’s over 87 kg category.

Campbell, who became Britain’s first Olympic weightlifting medalist at Tokyo 2020 last summer, quite enjoyed it: “The reason we come here is to perform on this stage at perfect games.”

Tom Dean lost his singles match against Duncan Scott but won the relay war against Australia to cap off a stunning Commonwealth Games meeting.

Scott and Dean’s 200-meter individual medley on the last night of the race was a box-office hit, as was the 200-meter freestyle, which was repeated at the Olympics.

The race ended 0.13 seconds in Scott’s favor as Scotland’s most decorated athlete in Commonwealth Games history secured gold.

But Dean was soon back in the pool and back at his best, producing an exceptional final surge to defeat Kyle Chalmers and secure medley relay gold for England.

Tom Harle was at the Sandwell Aquatics Center for an exciting final session of swimming action:

You don’t need brummie glam rock icon Slade to feel the roar at Alexander Stadium.

Another crowd – note Seb Coe and World Athletics – rose as one to roar Eilish McColgan and Katarina Johnson-Thompson to Commonwealth Games gold in 29 raucous and rocking minutes.

Johnson-Thompson’s personal best of 6981 points, set when she won the world heptathlon title in 2019, meant this would always be her gold to lose.

What a night of both athletics and swimming! We will have reports to come.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson after defending her heptathlon title.

“It feels incredible. This competition has served my career so well. I’ve had a tough few years, hopefully that will boost my second career.

“It was hard. I had moments when I didn’t want to continue. To win gold, it was worth asserting.

“Tokyo happened, but that was incredible. I am so happy that I performed for them.”