Canada captured a flurry of medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, highlighted by judo gold medals from Evelyn Beaton, Julien Frascadore, and Laurence Biron, alongside a hard-fought silver in the decathlon by Olympic champion Damian Warner on Friday and Saturday.
Combat Sports Domination: Judo Golds in Glasgow
Canada’s surge up the medal table in Glasgow was anchored by a dominant showing on the judo mats, where Evelyn Beaton of Lethbridge, Alta., opened the nation’s golden day. Competing in her debut Commonwealth Games, Beaton defeated Cyprus player Sofia Asvesta 1-0 in the women’s 52-kilogram final.
On the opening day of combat sports, Montreal’s Heidi Quach also claimed silver in the women’s 48-kilogram division after dropping a 2-1 decision to India’s Asmita Dey in golden score.
The combat success continued into Saturday at the SEC Centre, where Laurence Biron of Varennes, Que., captured Canada’s third judo gold. The 22-year-old secured the women’s 63-kilogram championship when Australia’s Saya Middleton accumulated the maximum three penalties during a scoreless match. Guillaume Gaulin of Val-d’Or, Que., added a silver medal in the men’s 90-kilogram final following a 1-0 loss to Mauritius competitor Remi Feuillet.
Damian Warner and Julia Tunks Secure Track and Field Silver
Over at Scotstoun Stadium, London, Ont., native Damian Warner added a silver medal to his extensive career accolades in the men’s decathlon. The 2024 Olympic champion found himself chasing two-time defending Commonwealth champion Lindon Victor, who pulled away during the final two events to claim his third straight title.
Warner held a strong early footing before struggling in subsequent disciplines.
“I had some solid events to start this decathlon,” the 36-year-old Warner said. “But there were some very poor performances and it just kind of went downhill from there.”
Damian Warner
The Grenadian champion extended his advantage in the javelin with a meet-best throw of 63.06 metres. Warner responded with a season-best throw of 55.54 metres to stay within striking distance before the concluding 1,500-metre race. Victor crossed 11th in 4:51.78 to finish with 8,096 points for the gold, while Warner placed sixth in 4:37.50 to total 8,036 points. India’s Tejaswin Shankar rounded out the podium with bronze, scoring 7,976 points.
“I’m proud that I was able to come out for each and every individual event and kind of just reset and put my best performance together. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.”
Damian Warner
In the women’s discus throw, Julia Tunks claimed silver with a mark of 60.67 metres. Jamaica’s Samantha Hall captured gold with a throw of 61.66 metres, while India’s Seema Kaliramna took bronze at 58.65 metres. Tunks reflected warmly on her achievement on social media.
“We secured a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games,” Tunks said on Instagram. “I just like to thank everybody who was at the stadium and back home, watching and supporting. It means the world to me, and I’m really glad to be following in my dad’s footsteps as he secured a bronze medal his first (Commonwealth) games, so I guess I’m a step ahead. Anyways, thank you guys so much, and it was a great experience.”
Julia Tunks
Relay Squads Advance and Additional Podiums Across Events
Canada’s track and field athletes kept busy on the penultimate day of competition. Following team adjustments that saw Duan Asemota run in place of Brendon Rodney during the preliminary heats, Canada’s men’s 4×100-metre relay team advanced to the final by clocking a time of 38.52 seconds behind Nigeria. The women’s 4x100m relay quartet also advanced to their respective final, posting the second-fastest time in the heats behind Jamaica.
Additional hardware arrived from race walking and boxing. Race walker Evan Dunfee earned a bronze medal in the men’s 10,000 metres behind Australia’s Isaac Beacroft and Kenya’s Stephen Ndangiri Kihu. Savannah Sutherland grabbed bronze in the women’s 400-metre hurdles, and Toronto sprinter Aaron Brown finished fourth in the men’s 200 metres.
On the boxing front, Joshua Ofori settled for bronze in the men’s 80-kilogram division, and Amber-Jane Wall secured bronze in the women’s 51-kilogram class. Meanwhile, Scarlett Delgado and Marie-Bathoul Al-Ahmadieh both earned silver medals after dropping their respective final bouts against Indian opponents.
