GLASGOW -- Kirsten Sweetland pumped her arms, grit her teeth and ran hard through the finish line -- and in that moment put six years of pain and frustration behind her. The 25-year-old from Victoria captured Canadas first medal of the Commonwealth Games on Thursday, a silver in the womens triathlon. "Totally pain free. It feels so good," Sweetland said with a tired smile. "It feels unbelievable to get a medal." Sweetland raced Englands Jodie Stimpson neck-and-neck through the 10-kilometre run before Stimpson pulled away down the stretch to win gold in one hour 58 minutes 56 seconds. Sweetland took the silver in 1:59.01, while Englands Vicky Holland crossed in 1:59.11 for bronze. Calgarys Ellen Pennock crashed on her bike and has a broken collarbone. Sarah-Anne Brault of Winnipeg was instructed to drop out during the run to focus on Saturdays relay race. Andrew Yorke of Caledon, Ont., finished fourth in the mens race. Sweetlands race to the podium closed the book -- finally -- on a dizzying bad-luck story that began when she missed out on qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and included suffering seven stress fractures and a torn plantar fascia. "Were talking about a redeveloping Kirsten here, so awesome. Awesome for Kirsten," said Canadian coach Jaime Turner. "She ran really tough today, I thought she was quite clinical and ruthless out there. "Let the players play and she followed and came up with an awesome result." Sweetland was a rising star in the triathlon world when she became the youngest Canadian to win a World Cup race at the age of 18. She was on pace for a spot on the Beijing Olympic team, standing third in a qualifying race in which she needed only to finish top-eight. But she fainted 400 metres from the finish line. From that point on, its been years of one stress fracture after another, first in her tibia and then her pelvis -- shed later discover the trouble stemmed from one of her legs being longer than the other. The most severe injury was the torn plantar fascia -- the connective tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot. "I would get the whole winter of training done, nobody knew that I was working hard, and then right about race season Id be out again. And again. And again," she said. Last season was the first in years that she managed to put some races together, only to suffer a stomach ailment last summer that was diagnosed as a severe allergy to eggs and milk. "So this is the first year that Im making it through a whole season," she said. Still, her confidence had seeped away with the long months and years of being out and wasnt restored until 10 days before Glasgow, when she raced to bronze in a World Triathlon Series event in Hamburg, Germany. "Thats huge," she said of the mental component of racing. "Until that race I wouldnt have believed I could get a medal today. "I still put these girls on a pedestal. You start to lose a bit of confidence in your running because running is something you need to consistently do. Doesnt matter how talented you are and how much speed you have, to have to consistently train in order to be up with the best. And it had been so long since I had that so I started to lose that (confidence)." She wasnt lacking for any Thursday. The five-foot-four Canadian was 11th in the 1,500-metre swim but laid down the fastest time in the 40-kilometre bike to put her second going into the 10-kilometre run. And then it was a foot race between the top six athletes, with Sweetland and Stimpson barely giving an inch to the other until the home stretch. "I just tried to stick on Jodies shoulder for the run and hang on for as long as I could," she said. Sweetland was asked if she feels sympathy for Canadian teammate Paula Findlay, who finished last at the 2012 London Olympics amid a series of soul-crushing injuries and ailments of her own. Findlay wasnt on the team for Glasgow. Sweetland nodded yes, she understands. The two, in fact, have been each others cheerleader in their attempts to return to top health. "Its really just your approach to it and how your roll with it," Sweetland said. "Its about putting in the work and not expecting the results. "When athletes are younger and dont have injuries to deal with, they think of the work as a means to an end. But if you enjoy the work and put it in without expectations, it just sort of comes up. It feels like I didnt even work for this, its been so fun." The 25-year-old Yorke was 17th out of the water, then 13th after the bike, but made up ground in the run portion. English brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee already had more than a minutes lead on the field by that point, Alistair going on to win gold and Jonathan taking silver. Richard Murray of South Africa won the bronze. Yorke outsprinted Australias Ryan Bailie to nab fourth by three seconds. "I thought that if everything went absolutely perfectly, and some people kind of tanked, I could have come third, but its always a dream," Yorke said. "But to find myself running in fourth, I told myself this morning I had nothing to lose, and that was my motto the whole day. I was out there thinking Youre hurting, but just kick. Whats the worth thing thats going to happen?" The Canadian crossed the finish line then wobbled on his feet for a few steps before dropping to the ground. An official leaned over him to dump water on his face. "I think that was just more indicative of my effort with the kick (than the heat)," he said. A huge crowd turned out for the first medal event of the Games, packing the grandstand at the finish line. They stood a dozen deep at some spots along the picturesque course at Strathclyde Country Park on the southeastern edge of Glasgow, enjoying the cloudless sky and temperatures that soared to 26 C. Sweetlands medal and Yorkes fourth-place finish were the bright spots on an up and down day for Canada. Pennock and Sweetland had come out of the water virtually even before Pennock crashed twice in the bike portion. The first came when she appeared to clip the back wheel of South Africas Kate Roberts, sending the two crashing to the road. The second incident saw her go down when she clipped her wheel on a barrier. She was taken from the course by ambulance to the Games medical centre. "Oh no, Ellens my good friend and my little buddy," Sweetland said, when informed of the crash. "Thats terrible to hear." Turner made the decision then to pull Brault from the race early on in her run. "We need Sarah-Anne in two days time with fresh legs," Turner said. "Theres no point Sarah marching on in the individual race without being in a dominant position." Brault, 24, struggled on the swimming portion, coming out of the water in 16th place. "Today wasnt there," Brault said. "Its really disappointing because I thought I was ready to have a good one, and I think it would have been a lot fun to race up at the front with the girls but when you come out of the swim that far back (its difficult to make up much ground)." Kyle Jones of Oakville, Ont., was 11th in the mens race, while Matthew Sharpe of Campbell River, B.C., was 21st. Penguins Jerseys 2020 . As the schedule flipped from November to December, they would go on to drop five straight, falling six games below the .500 mark before a franchise-altering trade turned them into an unrecognizable team. Carl Hagelin Jersey . 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The Predators were preparing for the game against the Wild when Poile was hit by a puck that flew off the ice at him where he was standing in a tunnel behind the bench.TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Anthony Bennetts big game, the skills of Jeff Teague, the performance of Nick Calathes, the energy of Joakim Noah and the compete level of Amir Johnson. 1. Anthony Bennett (Cavs): Congrats! Finally. Its been a very frustrating and disappointing rookie campaign for the young Canadian out of UNLV. The Cavs have won three in a row after an embarrassing loss at home to the undermanned Lakers and firing their GM Chris Grant. A wake up call? Maybe. For Bennett, its got to feel good and hopefully the fact that hes rounding back into shape will help his confidence and he relaxes and plays his game. Lots of pressure being the #1 overall pick in the draft to say the least. 2. Jeff Teague (Hawks): For the Raptors to win Wednesday, they have to control this guy at the point of attack. Hes terrific at getting into the lane and outplayed Kyle Lowry in their first meeting back in early November. Hes had a nice season at 15.7ppg and 7.3 apg. Lightning quick and he changes speeds really well. Gets into the lane almost at will. His penetration and ball-hawking skills defensively will be factors to watch. 3. Nick Calathes (Grizzlies): Awesome job filling in at the point guard spot vs. the Wizards Tuesday night with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Not a bad performance at all. Loved how he played with great poise at the end of the game vs. John Wall and concentrated on getting his team organized in their half-court offence and getting the ball to their two bigs and playing the power game. He really impressed me with his command of the game plan. Nice pick for them. 4. Joakim Noah (Bulls): Fabulous game Tuesday night vs. the Hawks. Watched the game and was blown way by the energy he had and the impact he had on the game. Posted a triple-double with 19 points, 16 boards and 11 assists. He competes at the top of the llist for players in the NBA; not many that play harder in the entire league.dddddddddddd A winner. With the Raptors currently (big game Wednesday vs. Hawks) in the third seed right now in the East with the Bulls, Hawks and Wizards occupying the 3-6 range of the East, the team I fear the most for a first round matchup for the Raptors is the Bulls. In spite of Derrick Rose being out and Luol Deng being traded, this team has what it takes to win in the playoffs and grind the game to a screeching halt and make you play ugly. For a young Raptors team in their first playoff series, this would be a matchup Id prefer they avoid. I know the Raptors have beaten them two of the first three games theyve played this year (they play again on next Wednesday in Toronto, coming off a back-to-back with Washington) but just ask last years Nets if you want to deal with the Bulls in the playoffs. Led by Noah, this club gets after you at a level in the playoffs that takes some getting used to. 5. Amir Johnson (Raptors): One of my all-time favorite Raptors. Not sure if hell play vs. the Hawks Wednesday but hes always been a gamer and wonderful competitor. The All-Star Break couldnt come at a better time for him than now. He needs the break to heal his injuries and fatigued body. He gives it his all for you and I respect that. I think hed be the first to tell you that he needs to play better and with more consistency down the stretch for the Raptors to be Atlantic Division champs and to also secure the third seed. If you watch the Raptors enough, its pretty obvious that when Johnson and Terrence Ross are going good and compliment Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Jonas and the bench, this team can play with anyone in the league. The night in and night out high level performance of Johnson and Ross, in my eyes, is the key to this team making a run here down the stretch. Consistency needed. ' ' '