GLASGOW — One of the longest-standing records from the 1994 Victoria Games fell decisively Friday at Hampden Park as Jonathan Ndiku demolished the old Commonwealth Games standard of 8:14.72 in the 3,000-metre steeplechase, set by countryman Johnstone Kipkoech of Kenya at Centennial Stadium two decades ago. Ndiku won gold in 8:10.44, leading a Kenyan sweep of the medals at Hampden.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s Riley McCormick and Montreal’s Matt Bouchard placed fifth Friday in the men’s three-metre synchronized diving event.
Emma Friesen, also of Victoria Boardworks and former NCAA one-metre champion for the University of Hawaii, was 11th in the women’s one-metre springboard Friday, an event won by fellow Canadian Jennifer Abel.
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Friesen was diving in the same Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh in which her dad and 1972 Munich Olympian Ron Friesen won bronze at the 1970 Commonwealth Games. Friesen was the technical director for the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games diving competitions in the Saanich Commonwealth Place pool in which his daughter now trains.
Friesen dives in the Glasgow Games three-metre springboard today.
Cameron Levins’s bronze-medal finish in the 10,000 metres Friday was the second medal of these Commonwealth Games for an Island track and field athlete, following Nanoose Bay high-jumper Mike Mason’s bronze on Wednesday.
It was the eighth medal overall for an Island athlete at these Games, joining Ryan Cochrane’s two swimming golds, Jim Paton’s two shooting silvers, Kirsten Sweetland’s silver in the women’s triathlon, swimmer Hilary Caldwell’s bronze in the 200-metre backstroke and Mason’s bronze in the high jump. Also Catharine Pendrel, who morphed into an eventual world champion cyclist in Victoria after being a casual athlete in the UVic triathlon club, has gold in women’s mountain biking.
Island athletes with fourth-place finishes in Glasgow include Sweetland and Matthew Sharpe in team triathlon, McCormick in three-metre diving and Max Plaxton in men’s mountain biking.
