CHRIS Tomlinson’s dreams of adding to his European bronze in Delhi were hanging by a thread last night.

The Teessider departed the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on a stretcher during Commonwealth Games long jump qualifying.

The 29-year-old broke his major outdoor medal duck by taking to the podium in Barcelona and began his Commonwealth Games campaign with a bang, clearing 7.95m with his first jump to make the final.

Cheers of joy immediately turned to screams of pain, however, as he hobbled out of the sandpit with an ankle injury.

Ironically Tomlinson’s leap was the longest of his pool and the second biggest of the entire session.

But he faces a race against time to treat the problem before today’s medal showdown.

Team-mate Greg Rutherford, who qualified for the final with a leap of 7.74m, insisted it was too soon to call time on the Middlesbrough AC athlete’s medal bid.

“I saw him hobbling around and you don’t want to see any athlete doing that, especially not your team-mate, but he did manage to get a big jump in,” said Rutherford.

“I wish him the best of luck and hopefully he will be able to come back and compete and you wouldn’t bet against him if he did.”

On the track Andy Turner completed a stunning year by adding Commonwealth Games 110m hurdles gold to the European Championships title he won in Barcelona this summer.

Turner, 30, led home an England 1-2-3, edging out national champion Will Sharman and 20-year-old Lawrence Clarke, who claimed silver and bronze respectively, while Scotland’s Chris Baillie was eighth in 13.97 seconds.

Turner crossed the line in 13.38 seconds, while Sharman, who finished fourth at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, was 0.12 seconds off the pace.

Clarke stopped the clock in 13.70, and Turner could not hide his delight at topping the pile in the Indian capital.

“I’ve so wanted this since winning in Barcelona,” said Turner. “It was in my mind that I really wanted to do the double and as time has gone by I’ve wanted it more and more and what a way that was to end the season.

“I knew I had a chance of winning the gold and I know I was in good shape going into that but I put the pressure on myself. Barcelona was the main goal for me so this is just a bonus.”

Steph Twell, representing Scotland, claimed her maiden senior international medal in the 1500m - timing her move to perfection to take bronze.

Twell was the first of four Brits home, clocking 4:06.15 minutes as Kenya’s Olympic 1500m champion Nancy Langat took gold in a new Commonwealth Games record of 4:05.26 minutes.

Hannah England finished less than a second behind Twell in 4:06.83 minutes, while Helen Clitheroe was back in eighth in 4:08.89 minutes and Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean tenth in 4:10.85 minutes.

“Just being here in Delhi has been such an amazing experience and I think I’ve taken so much from it,” said Twell.

“I think the Commonwealth Games is such a big stage anyway, especially for me.

Meanwhile, Martin Brockman dug deep to cling on to bronze in the decathlon, holding at bay a late challenge from compatriot Ben Hazell in the 1500m, crossing the line in first place to seal third place.

England’s Alex Smith was denied hammer throw gold at the death by South Africa’s Christiaan Harmse who threw 73.15m with his very last effort.

Smith has to settle for silver after he managed 72.95m while bronze went to compatriot Mike Floyd, who achieved a best throw of 69.34m.

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