Sawyers turns heartbreak into Commonwealth Games gold

England's Jazmin Sawyers finally put past disappointments behind her as she won the women's long jump at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The 32-year-old, returning from a serious injury, produced a performance that delivered a long-awaited gold medal.

There was also silver for England's mixed 4x400m relay team and a bronze for pole vaulter Owen Heard during the same evening at Scotstoun.

Sawyers had finished fourth at the previous Commonwealth Games in Birmingham four years ago. She then failed to qualify for the final of the 2023 World Championships and had to sit out the 2024 Olympics after rupturing her Achilles tendon on her take-off leg, which required surgery. Instead of competing in Paris, she worked as a commentator for the BBC.

In Glasgow, her fourth jump of 6.93m proved enough to take gold, finishing ahead of Nigeria's Ruth Usoro (6.87m) and Australia's Brooke Buschkuehl (6.80m).

Sawyers described the feeling as overwhelming and said she would repeat all the difficult moments many times over for this achievement. She also recalled winning silver at the same venue in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, her first major championship, which she called a shock silver and the start of her career.

She now turns her attention to competing for Great Britain at the European Championships in Birmingham, beginning on 10 August. But she wants to hold on to the memories of a Glasgow night that saw her upgrade her long-awaited silver to gold.