By Val Febbo
The Australian Jackaroos have capped off the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games in perfect fashion with two gold medals on the final day in the Para women’s and men’s pairs respectively.
Para women’s pairs
Louise Hoskins and Serena Bonnell took the nation’s first gold of the bowls programme against reigning World Champions in New Zealand’s Julie O’Connell and Teri Blackbourn with a 6-3 4-4 victory.
The Blackjacks claimed a three on the opening end before the Australians clamped down and tightened the contest up, winning the next three ends to take a 5-3 lead into the final end of the first set.
Hoskins played a brilliant end to keep her bowl on the jack for its entirety to help the green and gold win the opener and put themselves in a prime position for gold.
The Australians would clinch the first end of the second before New Zealand opened up a 3-1 lead with two ends to go in the second.
O’Connell and Blackbourn mounted the pressure to extend the margin to three with an end to play and at the crossover it was the Kiwis with the ascendancy.
Enter Bonnell, who played one of the shots of the tournament to trail the jack for the required three to take the Jackaroos’ first gold of the campaign.
She joins her husband, Tony Bonnell, as a Commonwealth Games gold medallist after his efforts in the para triples at Gold Coast 2018, while Hoskins has broken the record for the oldest Commonwealth Games gold medallist ever.
Para men’s pairs
Following the success of their teammates, the Australians were hungry from the outset, grabbing a three with the opening end.
From there they never looked back, storming to the opening set to put themselves in a prime position to clinch the gold.
Smith and Noble held a decent one on the first end of the second before Reynolds played a bomb to secure the opener, giving the Australians more momentum.
Another brilliant bowl from Reynolds set up the second end before the New Zealanders scored their first multiple to tie the set with two ends to play.
Enter both Australians, who performed in exemplary fashion to hold on for the historic gold medal.
Reynolds earns his second Commonwealth Games medal after first earning bronze at Manchester 2002, while Delgado goes one better than his silver at Birmingham 2022.
The pair also join an elite club, accompanying Jake Fehlberg as the only para bowlers in history to win gold at both the Commonwealth Games and World Bowls Championships.
Australia will finish second on the bowls medal tally with the two gold, trailing only England who claimed three gold, a silver and a bronze.
