Commonwealth Games: Wales finish seventh in medal table

Wales have finished seventh in the 2018 Commonwealth Games medal table despite not adding to their tally on the final day.

Team Wales celebrated their most successful Games with a record tally of 36 medals including 10 golds.

Wales finished ahead of Scotland while hosts Australia topped the table with England in second.

Gold medal winning weightlifter Gareth Evans will carry the Welsh flag at the closing ceremony.

The total medals match the highest Games haul in Glasgow in 2014, when Wales only won five golds.

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The 2018 haul of 10 golds emulates the previous best in Auckland in 1990 but in those Games in New Zealand, Wales only returned with 25 medals.

With Wales also bringing home 12 silvers and 14 bronze in Australia, the Gold Coast will go down as Wales' most successful Games to date.

England finished second to hosts Australia in the final medal table, with Wales' record overseas return of 36 seeing them finish seventh

Flying the flag

Evans was handed the honour of carrying the flag for Team Wales at the closing ceremony

The 31-year-old caught the attention with his passionate celebrations after winning the men's -69kg class.

The Holyhead lifter has been to three Commonwealth Games and one Olympics - and described his first gold as '19 years in the making'.

The chef de mission, Professor Nicola Phillips, told BBC Sport Wales they chose Evans because of what he'd done for the team.

"We had bucketfuls of people who'd performed fantastically," she said.

"In the end we decided on Gareth. It was our first gold medal. He inspired the rest of the team and set that tone of confidence.

"As importantly, he was going along to sports and supporting them.

"He had his performance and then supported the team and that shows a tremendous amount of respect."

No more medals

After seven medals on Saturday, Wales were only in action in Rugby Sevens and the two marathons on the final day of competition in Australia.

In the women's marathon, Caryl Jones and Elinor Kirk placed eighth and 15th respectively.

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Andrew Davies and Josh Griffiths were 11th and 15th in the men's event in searing heat which saw Scotland's Callum Hawkins collapse while leading just over a mile before the finish.

"It was really hard," said Griffiths.

"The temperature was just crazy and you could see that by the amount of people who did not finish.

"I hit the wall so much sooner than normal and everything was telling me to stop.

"But there was so many people supporting me and have come out here, I didn't want to quit and and had to get to the end."

Wales internationals Hallam Amos and Justin Tipuric helped the men's Sevens team to seventh place with a 28-24 win over Kenya. Wales had earlier lost 19-12 to Scotland.

The women's team also ended the competition in seventh by defeating South Africa after losing 14-12 to Kenya.

New Zealand won both Sevens competitions.