SIMBINE DEFEATS BLAKE FOR THE GOLD

Akani Simbine grabbed the spotlight and stunned Jamaica’s Yohan Blake in the men’s 100 metres final at the Commonwealth Games on Monday as athletics began a new era without Usain Bolt.

In cool conditions in Australia’s Gold Coast, South Africa’s Simbine stormed up lane seven to win his first major title in 10.03sec, the second fastest time this year.

Blake, the fastest man into the final in 10.06, stumbled out of the blocks and dipped for bronze in a disappointing 10.19, behind South African silver-medallist Henricho Bruintjies’ 10.17.

It was a chastening outing for Blake, 28, the 2011 world champion who holds the joint second fastest time in history, but whose career has long been overshadowed by the now retired Bolt. “I was stumbling all the way and I didn’t recover from it,” said Blake. “I’m disappointed because I’ve been feeling good. I didn’t get the start and I was all over the place. I couldn’t recover from it.