Birmingham, Aug. 4 (BNA) The Sri Lankan team has asked athletes and officials at the Commonwealth Games to hand over their passports after the loss of three members.
The nation, grappling with a major economic crisis, confirmed late Wednesday that a Judoka wrestler and a judo coach had disappeared from a Commonwealth Games villages that housed athletes and officials, The Associated Press reports.
A spokesman for the Sri Lankan team, Gopinath Sivarajah, told India’s Telegraph that Birmingham police were investigating the absence of the three members.
“We have asked all the athletes and officials to present their passports to the officials of our stadiums in all the villages after the incident,” he said. Police are investigating and the three cannot cross the UK border. What happened is really unfortunate.”
At the 2018 Games on Australia’s Gold Coast, nearly a third of Cameroon’s squad were lost after the event. The weightlifting coach also fled to Rwanda during a toilet break at the host stadium.
At least 230 athletes and officials were reported to have applied for protection visas in Australia after the event, but the majority were refused.
Sri Lanka, which selected a 161-strong squad for the 2022 Games, took home two silver and two bronze – including third place for Leopon Abikon in Wednesday’s men’s 100m final – after six days of competition.
Olympic champion Eileen Thompson-Hera has added a Commonwealth Games 100m gold medal to her resume. She won the women’s final in 10.95 seconds, beating Julian Alfred of St. Lucia and Daryl Neta of England, to win Jamaica’s first gold medal in the meet.
“I am grateful. I am happy to get my first title,” said Thompson-Hera, who won the 100-200 double at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics but did not win a singles medal at the Commonwealth level. “I finished fourth in the 200 four years ago, and from Then I moved on to the gold medal, I’m so excited.”
Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala won the men’s 100 in 10.02 seconds, and 2018 champion Akane Simbin of South Africa took the silver and Apikon took the bronze.
Former world champion Katharina Johnson-Thompson won the heptathlon for England and returned to the top of the podium at a major international meet for the first time in three years.
The 31-year-old Elish McCulgan of Scotland had a huge fan support at Alexander Stadium when she set a new record of 30 minutes 48.60 seconds in the women’s 10,000. Her mother, Lise Nuttall, won gold medals in the event at the 1986 and 1990 editions of the Games.
Australian swimmer Ariarn Titmus concluded an impressive singles encounter when he beat Canadian budding star Summer McIntosh in a thrilling 400m freestyle.
Titmus, who beat American star Katie Ledecky in the event at the Tokyo Olympics, completed a collection of gold medals in the 200, 400 and 800 races.
The 15-year-old Macintosh declared herself the future star at the World Championships in Budapest in June and won both 200 and 400 individual medals in Birmingham.
World champion Ben Proud claimed his third straight Commonwealth Games gold medal in the 50m freestyle and was delighted to succeed in front of a home crowd in 21.36 seconds.
Sam Short’s sensational swim to claim the 1500m freestyle continued Australia’s rich tradition of endurance racing.
18-year-old Short won in 14:48.54, three seconds ahead of Daniel Levine of Northern Ireland.
Field hockey moves into the medal rounds, as India beat Canada 3-2 to set up a women’s semi-final match against Australia.
Weightlifter Junior Pericles Ngadja Nyabu was in tears after winning Cameroon’s first gold medal at these Games in the men’s 109kg category with a total of 361 kg (796 lbs).
“It’s big, it’s too big for me, for my family. I was crying because it was too much for me, too much for me to take in,” he said.
The weightlifting venue was also the setting for Pakistan’s first gold medal in Birmingham, where Muhammad Noah Dastgir Butt set records at the Commonwealth Games to win the over 109kg category.
The full Games were completed when New Zealander Sam Gees defended his 2018 mountain biking gold medal with a convincing victory at Cannock Chase Forest.
Australia topped the medal standings after six days of competition with 46 golds and 123 overall, but hosts England were narrowing the gap with 38 golds and 103 in total. Canada moved into third place with 16 gold medals and 57 in total, with New Zealand slipping to third with 16 gold and 36 overall.
Scotland moved up to fifth place, ahead of South Africa with its seventh gold medal, and India finished seventh with five gold medals and 18 in total.