International Sport: Overnight highlights brought to you by SleepDrops - April 11

All the sporting news that happened overnight.

Golden hammer! Ratcliffe wins gold

Julia Ratcliffe has gone a step further than in 2014, claiming a brilliant Commonwealth Games gold medal in the hammer throw.

Ratcliffe put on a supremely consistent display of throwing at Carrara Stadium, pouncing when her main rivals failed, to claim gold with a best throw of 69.94 metres.

The 24-year-old had claimed silver in Glasgow, with a best throw of 69.96, but she produced a top display in wet conditions to win New Zealand's first ever gold medal in the discipline.

Volleyball brothers into semis

The men's beach volleyball duo of Ben and Sam O'Dea are one win away from a guaranteed medal at the Commonwealth Games following a straight sets victory over Trinidad and Tobago. They will meet a Canadian pair in the semifinals who have yet to drop a game.

Women's pair Shaunna Polley and Kelsie Wills are eliminated in the quarter-finals stage following a straight sets defeat to the duo from Cyprus. Some key errors at vital stages of the game proved costly for the New Zealanders who lost 21-10, 21-17.

Aussies confirm Zimbabwe tour

Australia will tour Zimbabwe for the first time in almost four years when they play in a Twenty20 tri-series also involving Pakistan in July.

Zimbabwe Cricket on Tuesday confirmed the dates for the tournament in Harare which includes six preliminary games followed by a final on July 8.

The tour follows Australia's limited-overs tour of the UK where they will play five ODIs and a one-off T20 international against England from June 13-28.

Another boxer into semifinals

Kiwi big man Patrick Mailata advanced to the semifinals in the men's +91kg division with a 5-0 over Northern Irishman Stephen McMonagle. He is guaranteed at least a bronze medal. Teammate Leroy Hindley wasn't so fortunate losing 5-0 to Aidan Walsh (Northern Ireland).

South African court dismiss Pistorius appeal

Legal experts say Olympian Oscar Pistorius has finally run out of options to appeal his 13-year prison sentence for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp.

South Africa's highest court dismissed Pistorius' request to review the prison sentence on Monday, bringing a close to a five-year legal saga surrounding the man who was once one of the world's most celebrated athletes.

"There is nothing they can do," said Pierre de Vos, a constitutional law expert at the University of Cape Town.

Swimming wrapped up on the Gold Coast

Bradlee Ashby finished fifth in the 200m individual medley in the final night at the Commonwealth Games pool.

Ashby kept pace through the butterfly and backstroke legs to sit third at the 100m turn.
He then spurted to the front in his 50m breaststroke stretch. However, he slipped away on the freestyle which saw Australian Mitch Larkin surge to his fourth gold of the meet followed by Scot Duncan Scott and Australian Clyde Lewis. Ashby's time was 1m 59.59s, just outside his personal best.

Lewis Clareburt came seventh.

Elsewhere, Jesse Reynolds touched fourth in a thrilling S9 100m backstroke finish.
He clocked a time of 1m 05.50s and missed bronze by 0.21s to Australian Logan Powell after turning in third.

Carina Doyle came last in the 400m freestyle final. The Women's 4 x 100m medley team finished sixth.