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Third is the word
... according to our bird!
Canoose, the Canadian goose, finished third.
Having trouble even coming close to half filling the 100,000-seat main stadium for track and field events here, yesterday featured the running of a highly publicized 100-metre race between Games mascots.
Wira, the Orang-Utan mascot of these Games was the winner with Kit, the mascot of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England finishing second.
Canoose finished third.
And it's now inescapable - Canada is going to finish third, behind Australia and England in the XVI Commonwealth Games.
NOT A BAD DAY, BUT ...
Not that it was a bad day yesterday as Canada won 11 medals including four gold - three by weightlifter Akos Sandor and the other by cyclist sprinter Tanya Dubnicoff.
With two days to go, hoping to bust the 100-medal barrier, Canada had collected 20 gold, 25 silver and 31 bronze with a slew of boxing medals on deck.
The shooters kept them coming with another silver and a bronze to make it five gold, five, silver and five bronze as a sport, seven medals shy of shooting's total four years ago in Victoria with one day of aiming and firing remaining.
Fifty-seven year-old John Rochon of Elliot Lake, Ont., won his fourth medal of the Games - a bronze in individual centre fire pistol. He's won a silver and three bronze.
Sharon Bowes of Waterloo, Ont., who had already won two gold and a bronze, made sure she'd leave here with at least one of each hue with a silver in the individual three position sport rifle competition.
"I came here believing if I shot my best, I'd go home with four,'' said Bowes who now has four gold, a silver and three bronze to show for her Commonwealth Games career.
Canada was hoping for a gold-silver-bronze sweep in platform diving but the Canadian team had another sub-par day, allowing an Australian to win gold and settling for a silver by Myriam Boileau of Blainville, Que., while event favorite Anne Montminy of Point-Claire, Que., finished a disappointing third.
DISAPPOINTED
"I came here for the gold,'' said Montminy.
"All the Canadians came here shooting for gold. I'm pretty disappointed. But at least it's a medal.''
Disappointing as well was a silver in rhythmic gymnastics where Canada's Emilie Livingston of Toronto and Katie Iafolla of Winnipeg somehow managed to lose to longshot host nation Malaysia.
Unexpected, however, was a bronze by Trista Bernier of Matotick, Ont. in the women's pole vault at the track.
Lori-Ann Muenzer of Toronto won bronze behind Dubnicoff in the cycle sprints.