GLASGOW -- Kirsten Sweetland pumped her arms, grit her teeth and ran hard through the finish line -- and in that moment put six

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. Cheap Jordan 11 Ireland . 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. Air Jordan 11 Cheapest .J. -- Jaromir Jagr has hit so many NHL milestones this season for the New Jersey Devils that he is starting to downplay them. Air Jordan 11 Retro Cheap .com) - Markus Granlund scored the game-winning goal as the Calgary Flames used an early offensive flurry to defeat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1, on Monday. http://www.airjordan11ireland.com/ . -- J.R. Sweezy was the one part of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line that had avoided injuries or having to change positions this season.BOSTON -- Dustin Pedroia spent the first month of the season just one home run shy of 100 in his career. Pedroia reached the milestone with a little panache, hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning and propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. "I was pretty excited to hit a home run. Its been a while," said Pedroia, who had gone 160 at-bats without one. The skid ended when the Red Sox truly needed it, clinging to a 2-1 lead on a night when both clubs were failing to drive in runs. Pedroia drove an 0-2 pitch out to left field in the sixth inning for his second career grand slam and first homer since Sept. 17. "Honestly, I was just trying to drive one run in," Pedroia said. "As a team, weve been scuffling a little bit with guys on." The grand slam put Boston up 6-1 and the cushion was plenty for Clay Buchholz (2-2), who shut down the team with the top record in the American League. Buchholz pitched 6 1-3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out five. He walked three and got himself out of several jams as the As left five on base and were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against Buchholz. "We hit some balls hard. We hit a lot of balls hard, actually -- right at people and then didnt get some hits when we did have some guys on base," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. John Jaso scored Oaklands only run, coming in on a wild pitch after leading off the third with a triple. Boston was having its own struggles with runners on before Pedroia came through in the sixth off of reliever Ryan Cook. Xander Bogaerts and A.J. Pierzynski started the sixth with back-to-back singles off Dan Otero, who began the inning. Otero struck out Will Middlebrooks, then walked Bradley to load the bases with one out. Cook relieved Otero and got Pedroia down 0-2, before he cleared the bases with a shot that just cleared the Green Monster. As manager Bob Melvin challenged whether thhe ball cleared the yellow line before a fan touched it and lost the appeal. Cheap Jordan 11 For Sale. The milestone homer put him in elite Red Sox company as only the second player in franchise history with 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases. Pedroia, who stole his 121st career base in the first inning, joins Carl Yastrzemski (452 home runs, 168 steals). "They told me that after the game. Thats crazy," Pedroia said. "I guess Im getting old. But just having your name anywhere said with his is an accomplishment." Boston hadnt scored since getting a pair of runs in the second inning off starter Dan Straily (1-2). Grady Sizemore led off with a double and scored on Pierzynskis single with one out. Jackie Bradley Jr. added a two-out double to drive in Pierzynski and Boston led 2-0. Straily pitched 4 1-3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He struck out three and walked three. "I felt like every single time, every batter I was behind 2-0. Thats just not the way to pitch," Straily said. "Its just a frustrating day." Bradley ended a potential rally for the As in the eighth with a leaping catch at the centre field wall, then hitting Pedroia with a strong relay throw. Pedroia threw to Mike Napoli as Josh Donaldson scrambled to get back after rounding second before seeing Bradley make the catch. Notes: The series continues Saturday afternoon with Boston LHP Jon Lester (2-4) scheduled to face Oakland lefty Tommy Milone (0-2). .. Oakland played its first game in May after tying the franchise record for wins in April at 18-9. ... Buchholz allowed 12 runs on 20 hits over 6 2-3 innings in his first two starts at Fenway Park this season. ... Boston rookie SS Xander Bogaerts has reached safely in 14 straight games. ... Boston C A.J. Pierzynski was played his 1,700th career game behind the plate. ... Pedroia could catch Yastrzemskis steal total of 168, but Yazs 452 homers are probably out of reach for Bostons pesky second baseman. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '