Sweetland Takes Silver at Commonwealth Games!

Victoria’s Kristen Sweetland has won Canada’s first medal of the Commonwealth Games. She captured a silver in the women’s triathlon today at Glasgow’s Strathclyde Country Park.

Calgary’s Ellen Pennock crashed on the bike and has a suspected broken collarbone while Sarah-Anne Brault of Winnipeg dropped out during the run.

England’s Jodie Stimpson won the first gold of Games, completing the 1,500-metre swim, 40-kilometre bike and 10-kilometre run in an unofficial time of 1:58:56. England’s Vicky Holland took  bronze.

Stimpson and Sweetland were side by side after the bike leg, with Holland in fourth.

The men’s race is scheduled for later today. The Canadian men’s team will work together with Victoria’s Matthew Sharpe pulling Kyle Jones and Andrew Yorke on the swim and bike to set them up for a great run.

Jones was 25th at the London Olympics and was the top Canadian in the Grand Final of the 2013 World Triathlon Series, placing 19th. He finished 15th at the London stop of the World Triathlon Series this year. Yorke, 25, was an Olympic alternate and his career-best WTS finish is 15th.