Australian Men Win Commonwealth Games

The Australian men won their first Commonwealth Games team title as competition began Monday in Delhi, India.

Defending all-around champion Joshua Jefferis led his team to a hard-fought victory over England, the two-time champion. Canada, the gold medalist four years ago in Melbourne, won the bronze.

Australia sent its top squad, with Jefferis, Samuel Offord, Thomas Pichler, Prashanth Sellathurai and Luke Wiwatowski all scheduled to depart Delhi for the upcoming worlds in Rotterdam. (Former high bar world champion Philippe Rizzo is sidelined with a shoulder injury, missing a chance to compete in a record fourth Commonwealth Games.)

Australia tallied first-place totals on the first four apparatus, but fell behind England after struggling on pommel horse in the fifth rotation. Anchor Sellathurai breezed through his routine until his dismount went awry, leaving the two-time world medalist standing awkwardly on the horse.

But England was unable to keep its lead after its own woes on the pommel horse in the sixth rotation. Junior European champion Max Whitlock, 17, anchored with the night's top routine, but it wasn't enough to keep England ahead. Australia, meanwhile, had rallied on the rings, with Sellathurai anchoring again for the highest rings score of the night.

Australia won its first-ever men's title by a margin of 2.3 points. Jefferis, the top qualifier to the all-around final, said the team victory beats his all-around gold from four years ago.

"It's extremely hard to compare winning a gold medal in front of your home crowd in Melbourne," Jefferis said. "However, a team gold medal is the pinnacle of every sport and that's the highest goal you want, so this is definitely my best moment of my career."

Said Offord, a member of Australia's second-place squad in 2006, "It was an amazing team effort. There was a lot in the media before we got here, but everything is great and well organized. We have had a blast, and winning this gold was brilliant."

England and Canada both sent young teams, saving most of their top gymnasts for Rotterdam. Nevertheless the gymnasts said they were pleased with their medal-winning results.

"It feels good," said English gymnast Reiss Beckford, 18. "It shows that England and Great Britain have got depth in their team."

Said English coach Paul Hall, "We are very happy with that. It's fantastic to have a B-team, if you like, come here and do a great job. We are proud that we did our job."

New Zealand finished fourth, moving up four spots from 2006. Wales finished fifth ahead of host India, which went full bore toward a podium finish. India's top gymnast Ashish Kumar, who qualified first to the vault final, is in line to win his nation's first major medal in gymnastics.

Few Indians witnessed the historic performances in person, however, as the Indira Ghandi Arena appeared nearly empty. Media reported just a few dozen spectators in the arena, which has a capacity of 14,400.

Competition continues Tuesday with the women's team competition and individual qualification. Led by world medalist Lauren Mitchell, the Australian women are favored to defend their team title.

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Amanda Turner, International Gymnast Magazine, 04/10/10