I believe Blackie said at one time that he did not recognize the USA's declaration of independence and still sees the States as a "colony". Just imagine if we were playing in those games and how easily we would dominate every sport there. I wonder what he would be saying.
Well join the Commonwealth and then see how you fare. You can say the USA will dominate the Commonwealth Games all you like, but you just can't prove it.
I believe Blackie said at one time that he did not recognize the USA's declaration of independence and still sees the States as a "colony". Just imagine if we were playing in those games and how easily we would dominate every sport there. I wonder what he would be saying.
You can have your "independence" all you like, but you can't take away from the fact that you stole land from the British that should be returned. In fact, if the Yanks were to return all the land which makes up their country back to the people they stole it from, the US would only end up consisting of something like Louisiana and Alaska, which they bought rather than stole. Poor Hawaii was once an independent state with its own monarchy before the Yanks took it. Just give it back.
Let's do a deal: You give the 13 original states back to those British families from whose ancestors you stole them from and then you'll hear no more of it.
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ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS
Artistic gymnastics' star-in-the- making Claudia Fragapane has become the first Englishwoman to win four gold medals in the Commonwealth Games since the very first Games back in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, when they were known as the British Empire Games.
The gymnast, 16, won gold in an amazing performance on the floor last night. She had already won the vault gold, the all-around gold and the team gold earlier in the week, as well as coming fifth in Friday's beam event.
Swimmer Joyce Cooper was the previous Englishwoman to win four golds in 1930.
"I'm speechless I'm the most-decorated English woman at the Games in 84 years. It's incredible," said Fragapane.
Fragapane, whose Italian father wears Italy football shirts when he watches her compete, joins Cooper and the men's pair of fencer Bill Hoskyns (1958 ) and shooter Mick Gault (1998 ) as the only English competitors to win four golds at a single Commonwealth Games.
Gault equalled the all-time all-comers medal record at Glasgow 2014 when he secured his 18th with bronze in the 10m air pistol competition.
The all-comers' record of six golds at a single Games is held by four athletes, including Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe in Manchester in 2002, while eight competitors have won five golds.
Meanwhile, Leeds' Nile Wilson celebrated Yorkshire Day by winning gold in the high bars as well as taking silver in the parallel bars behind Scotland's Dan Purvis, with three-time gold medallist Max Whitlock securing bronze in the latter.
Wilson's high bars gold was decided on a tie-break after he was given the same score as team-mate Kristian Thomas, who had earlier picked up silver in the vault.
Wilson was awarded the title because of his higher execution score after both he and Thomas scored 14.966, with Canada's Kevin Lytwyn taking bronze with 14.866.
Wilson has now won four medals in total at this Games - two golds, one silver and one bronze.
Glasgow 2014: Claudia Fragapane wins historic fourth gold
1 August 2014
BBC Sport
Fragapane's Italian-born dad wears Italy football shirts when she competes. Her amazing performance on the floor last night (above) saw her claim her fourth gold
Claudia Fragapane became the first Englishwoman to win four golds at a single Commonwealth Games for 84 years with victory on the floor on Friday.
The gymnast, 16, won gold in an amazing performance on the floor last night. She had already won the
vault gold, the
all-around gold and the
team gold earlier in the week, as well as coming fifth in Friday's beam event.
Swimmer Joyce Cooper was the previous Englishwoman to win four golds in 1930.
"I'm speechless I'm the most-decorated English woman at the Games in 84 years. It's incredible," said Fragapane.
At the 1930 Games in Canada, England's Joyce Cooper won gold in the 100 yard backstroke, 100 yard freestyle, 440 yard freestyle relay and the 440 yard freestyle
Fragapane joins Cooper and the men's pair of fencer Bill Hoskyns (1958 ) and shooter Mick Gault (1998 ) as the only English competitors to win four golds at a single Commonwealth Games.
Gault
equalled the all-time all-comers medal record at Glasgow 2014 when he secured his 18th with bronze in the 10m air pistol competition.
The all-comers' record of six golds at a single Games is held by four athletes, including Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe in Manchester in 2002, while eight competitors have won five golds.
Standing just 4ft 5in tall, Fragapane has belied her diminutive size to become one of the stars of the Games and her final appearance did not disappoint as her score of 14.541 on the floor saw off the challenge of Australia's
Lauren Mitchell (13.833), while Canada's
Ellie Black (13.666) won bronze.
Meanwhile, England's Nile Wilson won gold in the high bars as well as taking silver in the parallel bars
behind Scotland's Dan Purvis, with three-time gold medallist Max Whitlock securing bronze in the latter.
Wilson's high bars gold was decided on a tie-break after he was given the same score as team-mate
Kristian Thomas, who had earlier picked up silver in the vault.
Wilson was awarded the title because of his higher execution score after both he and Thomas scored 14.966, with Canada's
Kevin Lytwyn taking bronze with 14.866.
It meant the 18-year-old won his first individual gold medal of the Commonwealth Games after claiming team gold, parallel bars silver and all-around bronze.
"To finish like that was the icing on the cake - to finish with a gold medal is just unbelievable. I was just happy with how I performed - the scores were great," said Wilson.
In the men's vault, Canada's
Scott Morgan won gold with a total of 14.733, with a disappointed-looking Thomas second with a score of 14.499 and Singapore's Wah Toon Hoe taking bronze with 14.195.
Thomas said: "I'm a bit disappointed with the first vault, but it's a Commonwealth medal so I am delighted."
Wales'
Georgina Hockenhull took bronze on the women's beam behind Canada's
Elsabeth Black.
HOW ENGLAND DOMINATED THE GYMNASTICS AT GLASGOW 2014
FINAL GLASGOW 2014 GYMNASTICS MEDALS TABLE, MEN AND WOMEN, ARTISTIC AND RHYTHM
......................GOLD.....SILVER.....BRONZE.....TOTAL
England.........9..................5.................5.................19
Canada..........8..................3..................4................15
Scotland........2..................2..................1.................5
Wales.............1...................5..................4.................10
Australia........0...................4..................0.................4
Malaysia........0...................1..................2.................3
Cyprus..........0...................0...................1.................1
India...............0...................0...................1.................1
NZ...................0...................0...................1.................1
Singapore....0....................0...................1.................1
Total for Great Britain: 12 golds; 12 silvers; 10 bronzes
(All nine of England's golds came in the artistic gymnastics, well ahead of their nearest rivals Canada, who only won three golds in the artistic gymnastics)
The best: England's 4ft 5in Claudia Fragapane has won four of the five finals she has competed in at Glasgow 2014 - team; all-around, vault; floor
England's Nile Wilson won five gold medals at the 2014 European Championships in Sofia in May and has now won four medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games - two golds (horizontal bar, team), one silver (parallel bars) and one bronze (all-around).
Scottish gymnast Dan Purvis is based in England and trains at Southport YMCA
BBC Sport - Glasgow 2014: Claudia Fragapane wins historic fourth gold
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Kiribati has won its first EVER medal of any colour, not just in the Commonwealth Games but of any such multi-sport event.
The medal, a gold, was won by David Katoatau in weightlifting's 105kg Group A at the Clyde Auditorium.
Katoatau, 30, lifted 148kg in the snatch and 200kg in the clean and jerk.
New Zealand's Stanislav Chalaev clinched silver, while England's Ben Watson claimed an unexpected bronze.
"I came here hoping to finish in the top five so to get bronze is the best day of my life," said 24-year-old Watson, who is from Oxford.
Katoatau smiled as the national anthem of Kiribati Teirake Kaini Kiribati (Stand up, Kiribati) was played at the Clyde Auditorium before the enthusiastic crowd burst into a round of applause.
The tiny Pacific island republic of Kiribati (pronounced "Kiribass") gained its independence from Britain on 12th July 1979. Its English-speaking and Gilbertese-speaking inhabitants number just over 100,000 and the country occupies land area of just 313 sq miles (just slightly larger than Andorra), making it one of the world's smallest countries. However, its 32 atolls and one raised coral island, Banaba, are scattered over an area of 1.3 million square miles, around the same size as Peru, and straddle the Equator.
Glasgow 2014: David Katoatau claims first ever Kiribati medal
By Neil Johnston
BBC Sport at the Clyde Auditorium
30 July 2014
Katoatau won Kiribati its first ever medal at its fifth Commonwealth Games
The tiny Pacific island nation of Kiribati is celebrating a first Commonwealth Games medal after David Katoatau won gold in weightlifting's 105kg Group A.
Katoatau, 30, lifted 148kg in the snatch and 200kg in the clean and jerk.
New Zealand's
Stanislav Chalaev clinched silver, while England's
Ben Watson claimed an unexpected bronze.
"I came here hoping to finish in the top five so to get bronze is the best day of my life," said 24-year-old Watson, who is from Oxford.
Katoatau smiled as the national anthem of Kiribati was played at the Clyde Auditorium before the enthusiastic crowd burst into a round of applause.
Kiribati - which won independence from the United Kingdom in 1979 - is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean with a population of just over 100,000.
Some facts and figures about Kiribati
Where: A group of coral islands in the Central Pacific Ocean
Population: 103,500
Languages: English, Gilbertese
Size: 313 sq miles
Independence: From Britain, 12th July 1979
Capital: South Tarawa
Main exports: Seaweed, shark fins and coconuts
Read more about Kiribati on the BBC News website.
"I am so proud to have earned Kiribati a first medal at a major event," said Katoatau, who finished 17th out of 21 in the same category at the 2012 Olympics.
Watson, who is from the St Birinus Club in Didcot, led after the snatch after successfully lifting 157kg.
But despite being cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd, he could not compete with Katoatau or Chalaev in the clean and jerk - where the weight is lifted in two movements.
"I can't be disappointed because I didn't really expect a medal," added Watson.
Maryam Usman claimed gold for Nigeria in the other weighlifting event of the day, the women's +75kg weightlifting category.
The 23-year-old's overall score of 280kg beat reigning champion
Ele Opeloge of Samoa into second place, with New Zealand's
Tracey Lambrechs taking the bronze.
Watch David Katoatau being interviewed in the BBC's Commonwealth Games Glasgow studio last night before he plays guitar and sings a song he calls "Kiribati Is My Country": BBC Sport - Glasgow 2014: Kiribati gold medallist David Katoatau sings
David Katoatau carried the flag for Kiribati at the opening ceremony
Ben Watson won the English title in February with a two-lift total of 335kg
Maryam Usman (centre) won bronze at +75kg in the 2011 World Championships in Paris
BBC Sport - Glasgow 2014: David Katoatau claims first ever Kiribati medal