Sarah Adlington looking to make Commonwealth history on Wednesday
Sarah Adlington can go where no judoka has ever gone before on Wednesday at the Commonwealth Games.
Adlington has had an eight-year wait to defend the +78kg title that she won on home soil at Glasgow 2014 with judo excluded from the Games on the Gold Coast four years ago.
And if the 35-year-old can repeat the trick at Coventry Stadium then she will become the first athlete to ever win two Commonwealth Games golds in the dojo.
Adlington was supposed to have competition for that feat with Chris Sherrington, her teammate from Team Scotland’s all-conquering 2014 squad, in the same position on the mat.
However, any hopes he had of retaining his +100kg gold were scuppered by a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury that forced him to pull out of the squad at the last minute.
If successful, Adlington will hope to keep a better hold on the metal around her neck this time after conspiring to lose her medal when it got stuck in an X-ray machine without her noticing during the Glasgow Games.
She is in good form, too, having claimed gold last month at the Winterthur European Cup in Switzerland.
This summer, Team Scotland, supported by funding raised by National Lottery players, compromises of over 250 athletes, all vying for medal success.
Ahead of competing in Birmingham, Adlington said: “It’s a great honour to be selected to represent Scotland at any event but even more so at a Commonwealth Games. I am excited to compete.
“It is also another opportunity for the public to see some world-class judo.
“I know there will be a lot of Scottish support in the crowd and that will be great for all the Scottish athletes.”
Elsewhere, Duncan Scott - who became Scotland’s most decorated athlete when he won his 11th medal with bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay on Monday night - goes again in the pool in the 4x100m medley relay.
And boxers Reese Lynch, Sam Hickey and Sean Lazzerini all have the chance to guarantee at least a bronze medal if they win their quarterfinals at the NEC.
While in bowls, Dumfries pensioner Rosemary Lenton - who at 72 is the oldest member of Team Scotland - goes for gold alongside partner Pauline Wilson in the para women's pairs.
Leamington Spa is the stage at 3pm with Australia the opponents after Lenton and Wilson saw off the Auld Enemy England in Monday’s semi-final.
The track cycling may have finished but Charlie Aldridge and Isla Short are still in action on two wheels in the men’s and women’s cross-country mountain biking.
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