English sprint aces crash out of final

England's Dwain Chambers and Mark Lewis-Francis saw their gold medal dream turn into a nightmare as Kim Collins roared to the Commonwealth Games 100metres title in Manchester.

Chambers pulled up clutching his hamstring about 30 metres from the end while Lewis-Francis also suffered an injury and crashed onto the track before being carried away on a stretcher.

Collins took the title for St Kitts and Nevis in a national record 9.98 seconds with Nigeria's Uchenna Emedolu second in 10.11 and Pierre Browne of Canada third in 10.12.

Bath's Jason Gardener finished sixth in 10.22secs but the night will always be remembered for the way that England's two medal hopefuls saw their challenge end in sensational fashion.

Lewis-Francis looked to be in medal contention until pain was suddenly etched on his face and he crashed to the floor as he crossed the line.

The 19-year-old lay prone for a couple of minutes before being carried away from the track. Chambers had another nightmare start and in his attempt to force his way into contention seemingly felt his hamstring snap just fractions of a second after the same fate befell his rival.

The 24-year-old Londoner was left clutching his thigh as he limped across the line and off the track after seeing his hopes of claiming his first major title in ruins.

"I want to say thank you to the fans," said a jubilant Collins, who felt that English duo Chambers and Lewis-Francis had buckled under the pressure.

"That's what happened. They were under a lot of pressure and that's the disadvantage of being the home team.

"They were under so much pressure from the fans and the media."

Jason Gardener, agreed with the winner: "They have been in fantastic shape all season and there has been a lot of expectation. People have been saying 'Dwain or Mark - which is it going to be. But you can never underestimate the other finalists in a Commonwealth Games final."