Kirsten Sweetland of Victoria won Canada's first medal of the Commonwealth Games on Thursday, capturing the silver in the women's triathlon at Glasgow's Strathclyde Country Park.

England's Jodie Stimpson pulled away from Sweetland down the stretch of the closing running leg to win the first gold medal of the Games. She completed the 1,500-metre swim, 40-kilometre cycle and 10-kilometre run in a time of 1 hour, 58 minutes, 56 seconds.

Canada's Kirsten Sweetland, front, competes in the running portion of the women's triathlon in Glasgow. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Sweetland finished five seconds behind, and England's Vicky Holland came in 15 seconds back to take the bronze.

Sweetland, 25, has struggled with injuries for years — and more recently battled food allergies — but she peaked at the right time. Less than two weeks ago, she reached the podium in a World Triathlon Series event for the first time in her career, finishing third in Hamburg.

"Totally pain free. It feels so good," she said after Thursday's race. "It feels unbelievable to get a medal."​

Calgary's Ellen Pennock crashed during the bike portion of the event and suffered a broken collarbone. Sarah-Anne Brault of Winnipeg was instructed to drop out during the run to save her self for Saturday's relay event.

Yorke just misses men's podium

Andrew Yorke of Hamilton, Ont., fell just short of a medal in the men's event, finishing fourth.

It was a solid result for the 25-year-old, an Olympic alternate whose career-best finish in a World Triathlon Series event is 15th.

Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee of England won gold, pulling away from his younger brother, Jonathan Brownlee, who took the silver.

South Africa's Richard Murray got the bronze.

On a day when temperatures reached 29 C, Yorke 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 [finishing] kick [than the heat]," Yorke said.

"I told myself this morning I had nothing to lose, and that was my motto the whole day. I was out there thinking 'You're hurting, but just kick. What's the worth thing that's going to happen?"'

Cochrane repeats as 400m champ

Later, another Victoria athlete won Canada's first gold in Glasgow when Ryan Cochrane repeated as champion of the men's 400-metre freestyle event.

Cochrane will try to defend his 1,500-metre title later in the Games.