Bello Brothers Day after day, crowds flocked to Birmingham’s Smithfield venue not for athletics, swimming or any other major Commonwealth Games sport, but for beach volleyball, a minority sport among minority sports in Great Britain. Throughout this period, the athletic, dynamic style of 22-year-old twins Joaquin and Javier Bello, who were born in Madrid before moving to London as children, has been one of the Games’ most joyous attractions. They had an incredible tournament winning bronze and are also getting closer to their goal of bringing beach volleyball to as many people as possible in Great Britain. It was a good start. Javier Bello and Joaquin Bello celebrate beach volleyball bronze with family members Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images Delicious Orie Orie has spoken at length about his admiration for Anthony Joshua and as he has become the leading super-heavyweight in Team GB, the comparisons have naturally followed. On Sunday night he lived up to the hype, taking home a stellar gold medal by out-maneuvering India’s Sagar Ahlawat in the super-heavyweight division. Orie was born in Moscow to a Nigerian father and Russian mother before moving to Birmingham in his youth, partly because of the racism he constantly encountered there. Now he has triumphed in his hometown, but even bigger stages, from the World Championships to the Olympics are definitely next on his radar. Scotland’s Eilish McColgan and Kenya’s Irene Cheptai emerged for the final stretch of the women’s 10,000m final with legs kicking, faces grimacing, pushing themselves to the limit. As the crowd roared her on, it was McColgan who found the extra gear to overcome her opponent and go on to claim her first major title. Her success is all the more significant for the efforts McColgan made to get here. He has been a constant presence in the sport and in all four Commonwealth Games he has attempted four events: 1500m, 5,000m, 10,000m and the steeplechase. He finally found the right distance and time to thrive. Four days later, he returned to win a silver medal in the 5,000m. Scotland’s Eilish McColgan comes from behind in the final lap to win the women’s 10,000m final. Photo: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix Having dominated the qualifying round of the 10m platform competition and then led after the first nine dives of the final, she stepped up to the final dive of her first Commonwealth Games with all the pressure on her shoulders to assert her superiority. No problem, he threw a super complicated dive, a 2 1/2 back somersault dive with 1 1/2 turns in a pike position, and absolutely nailed it. She scored a 9.0 all-around, winning gold at just 17. In 2020, Spendolini-Sirieix was named Young Sports Personality of the Year and has been on the road for quite some time. It has arrived. Marfa Ekimova England dominated the artistic gymnastics competition as expected, but as the rhythmic gymnasts came to occupy the same arena, a new star emerged. Ekimova, 17, became the first English gymnast to ever win a gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games, winning with a score of 112.300. “It’s amazing and a dream come true. It was a roaring crowd and everything a female athlete could ever wish for,” she said. He will now aim to compete among the best by qualifying for the Paris Olympics.
