Sophie Pascoe celebrates winning the women's 100m freestyle S9 swimming final. Photo / Photosport
Sophie Pascoe celebrates winning the women's 100m freestyle S9 swimming final. Photo / Photosport
All you need to know from day one of the Commonwealth Games, which kicked off with a controversial silver for Kiwi Hayden Wilde in the triathlon and New Zealand's first three gold medals of the Games in the track cycling and swimming.
Wilde wins silver
Hayden Wilde was New Zealand's first medal winner at the Olympic Games, now he's the first Kiwi medallist at the Commonwealth Games.
Wilde won silver in the men's triathlon, though he was denied a chance at gold by a controversial 10 second penalty for taking his helmet off too early on the transition from the bike leg to the run.
Wilde was running neck and neck with England's Alex Yee on the final lap, but had to swerve off to the penalty area in the final straight to the line, taking second place, 13 seconds in arrears.
New Zealand's Hayden Wilde congratulates Englan'd Alex Yee. Photo / Photosport
Dylan McCullough (seventh) and Taylor Reid (eighth) made it three Kiwis in the top 10.
Kiwi cyclists grab four medals including two golds
The Kiwi track cycling team continued the medal rush in the velodrome, including New Zealand's first two gold medals of the Games.
The Kiwi men's team pursuit won New Zealand's first gold, beating England by two seconds in the final of the 4000m event, and they were followed by the women's team sprint in standing on the top step of the podium.
Rebecca Petch, Olivia King and Ellesse Andrews celebrate winning gold in the women's team sprint. Photo / Photosport
The women's team pursuit had started proceedings with silver, and the men's team sprint ended it with bronze as all three colours were claimed in a busy stint at the London velodrome.
Dame Sophie Pascoe won her fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal in what could be her last major event representing New Zealand in the pool.
Competing in the S9 100m freestyle, her only event in Birmingham, Pascoe stopped the clock in a time of 1:02.95 to beat Australia's Emily Beecroft by 0.79s.
The Kiwi swimming great has yet to decide on whether she will compete at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
The Black Ferns Sevens started their Commonwealth Games gold medal defence with a 45-7 win over Canada, then thrashed Sri Lanka 60-0.
However, it wasn't all good news as star speedster Portia Woodman was forced off the field during the Canada clash with an ankle sprain. The severity of the injury is not yet known.
The All Blacks Sevens survived a scare against Samoa after falling to a 17-0 lead to steal a comeback 19-17 victory. They won their earlier match against Sri Lanka 63-5.
In the netball, the Silver Ferns thrashed Northern Ireland 79-20 to go top of their pool on goal difference. England, who beat Trinidad & Tobago 74-22, will be New Zealand's biggest rivals for top spot.
Black Sticks in extraordinary draw against Scotland
The Black Sticks Men produced an extraordinary fourth quarter performance but couldn't quite complete a turnaround against Scotland as the match finished 5-5.
Scotland were brilliant in the first half, opening a 5-1 lead at halftime, but were hanging on for dear life by the end.
After Sam Hiha equalized for the Black Sticks, the Kiwis continued to pile on the pressure but were unable to convert a winning goal, with Jacob Smith missing their best opportunity as the seconds ticked down.
NZ and Scotland share the points in the first match of pool A, which includes defending champs Australia.
To view a full list of every result by every Kiwi athlete and team, check out our full schedule and results.
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