Eseme, Hobbs shine in Glasgow rain to win 100m Commonwealth gold

Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme defied the torrential rain in Glasgow to win the men’s 100 metres in a Commonwealth Games record time on Tuesday as New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs surged to a surprise victory in the women’s 100m.

Persistent downpours throughout the evening session at the Scoutstoun track made for hazardous conditions, with the conclusion to the women’s high jump even delayed until after the action on the track was done for the night.

Eseme made light of the weather to storm through the field and win in 9.83 seconds, surpassing the Games record set by Trinidadian great Ato Boldon in Kuala Lumpur 28 years ago.

“That was a crazy race! I’m surprised at the time,” said the 32-year-old, who only took up track and field eight years ago.

“The weather I didn’t want to be a setback, you know, because we’re all competing in the same environment, so I can’t have a complaint.”