Mack Horton, Record-Setting 4×100 Free Relay Strike Gold for Australia at Commonwealth Games

mack horton, 2017 fina world championships, 2018 commonwealth games

Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA

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During a remarkable first evening of swimming finals at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, the host Australians won two gold medals, with Mack Horton taking the top spot in the men’s 400 free and his female teammates, led by Cate Campbell, taking down their own world record in the 4×100 free relay.

Other highlights included two amazing comeback gold medals for England, courtesy of Aimee Willmott and James Wilby, and a new Canadian record and gold medal for Taylor Ruck in the women’s 200 free.

Read below for event-by-event full coverage of the evening session.

Full results

Women’s 400 IM FINAL

In the first swimming final of the Commonwealth Games, England’s Aimee Willmott out-swam Scotland’s Hannah Miley to pick up the title in the 400 IM. Willmott held a narrow lead after breaststroke, Miley led by just three hundredths halfway through freestyle, and then Willmott came back with a fantastic final 50 to win gold.

Willmott finished in 4:34.90, while Miley took second in 4:35.16. That was a reversal of the finish from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, when Miley took gold ahead of Willmott.

Australia’s Blair Evans took bronze in 4:38.23, while Canada’s Erica Seltenreich-Hodgson just missed the medals with a fourth-place time of 4:38.51. Another Canadian, Sarah Darcel, had the lead for the first half of the race but ended up fading on the free leg and taking fifth in 4:39.43.

Other finalists included England’s Abbie Wood (4:40.55), Australia’s Meg Bailey (4:41.46) and Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey (4:43.51).

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Men’s 400 Free FINAL

England’s James Guy and Australia’s Jack McLoughlin took a big early lead in the Commonwealth 400 free final, but they could not shake the Olympic gold medalist, local favorite Mack Horton. And Horton came back, pulling aside the early leaders on the third 100 and moving into the lead with one lap to go.

Horton pulled away down the stretch and came in at 3:43.76. That was well off his lifetime best of 3:41.55, swum on his way to Olympic gold in Rio, but it was plenty to take the win in Gold Coast. Horton’s gold was the first for Australia since Ian Thorpe won back-to-back Commonwealth titles in the event in 1998 and 2002.

McLoughlin ended up touching out Guy for silver, 3:45.21 to 3:45.32. The bronze was the second straight at the Commonwealth Games for Guy — the 2014 bronze was his first international medal, before he became a World Champion — while McLoughlin earned his first-ever international medal

Wales’ Daniel Jervis finished fourth in 3:48.08, and two other men got under 3:50: Canada’s Jeremy Bagshaw (3:49.52) and Australia’s David McKeon (3:49.60). Rounding out the final were Malaysia’s Welson Sim (3:53.36) and Scotland’s Stephen Milne (3:55.01).

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Women’s 200 Free FINAL

Canada’s Taylor Ruck earned her first major international medal outside of relays with Commonwealth Gold in the 200 free. Ruck swam side-by-side with Australian Emma McKeon for the first 150 meters, and then she exploded off the final wall. But Ruck had to work hard coming home to hold off Australian Ariarne Titmus, which she did by just four hundredths of a second.

Ruck finished in 1:54.81, crushing her own Canadian record and moving to seventh all-time in the event, tied with American Missy Franklin. Ruck beat her previous record of 1:56.85, set last month at the TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Atlanta, by more than two seconds. She also edged out McKeon’s Commonwealth record (1:54.83).

Titmus, who like Ruck is only 17 years old, finished in 1:54.85, just two hundredths off McKeon’s Australian record and good for No. 10 on the all-time list.

McKeon, the Olympic bronze medalist and World Champs co-silver medalist in the event, settled for bronze in 1:56.26.

English swimmers Eleanoe Faulkner (1:57.72) and Holly Hibber (1:58.55) took fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Australia’s Leah Neale (1:58.76), Canada’s Penny Oleksiak (1:59.55) and Scotland’s Lucy Hope (1:59.58).

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Men’s S14 200 Free FINAL

England’s Thomas Hamer pulled ahead of the S14 200 free final on the second 50, and none of the three Australians in the field were going to catch him. Hamer came in at 1:55.88, breaking his own world record of 1:56.18 set last July.

Australian’s Liam Schutler and Daniel Fox rounded out the podium, with Schluter finishing in 1:56.23 and Fox touching in 1:58.26. Fourth went to another Aussie, Michell Kilduff, in 1:59.55.

Also in the final were Wales teammates Jack Thomas (2:05.38) and Alex Rosser (2:05.60), Malaysia’s Jin Ping Ting (2:20.93) and Singapore’s Liang Chou Han (2:25.22).

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Women’s S7 50 Fly FINAL

England’s Eleanor Robinson, won won Paralympic gold in the S6 50 fly in Rio, took Commonwealth gold in the event while swimming up a classification. She won the race by almost two seconds and touched in 35.72, just off the S6 world record of 35.48.

Canada’s Sarah Mehain took the silver in 37.69, and her teammate Tess Routliffe took bronze in 37.85. Australia’s Tiffany Thomas Kane finished fourth in 38.68.

Men’s 50 Fly Semi-Finals

South Africa’s Chad Le Clos put himself in position to win his first gold of the Commonwealth Games when he cruised to the top seed in the 50 fly semi-final. Le Clos has won 12 career Commonwealth medals and four golds (including two gold and seven total medals four years ago in Glasgow), and he swam a time of 23.53 in the semis.

His countryman Ryan Coetzee tied for second with Australia’s Grant Irvine, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter wad fourth in 23.90. Also under 24 were New Zealand teammates Daniel Hunter (23.93) and Sam Perry (23.99).

Also into the final were England’s Jacob Peters (24.05) and Australia’s David Morgan (24.17).

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Women’s 50 Breast Semi-Final

Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson put up the top semi-final time in the 50 breast with her mark of 30.53, while England’s Sarah Vasey will have lane five next to her for the final after posting a semis time of 30.75. Australians Georgia Bohl and Jessica Hansen tied for the win in the first semi-final in 30.92, giving them co-ownership of the third spot.

South Africa’s Tatjana Shoenmaker was fifth in 31.01, one hundredth ahead of Aussie Leiston Pickett (31.02). Canada’s Faith Knelson (31.22) and Singapore’s Roanne Ho (31.31) also made the cut.

Men’s 100 Back Semi-Finals

Australia’s Mitch Larkin, the 2015 World Champ in the 100 back, cruised into finals with a top-seeded time of 53.15. Canada’s Markus Thormeyer was the only man within one second of that mark as he qualified in 53.86 for second, with Australia’s Bradley Woodward rounding out the top three (54.22).

Ireland’s Conor Ferguson took fourth in 54.48, followed by England’s Luke Greenbank (54.54) and Australia’s Ben Treffers (54.62). Claiming the outside lanes for the final were New Zealand’s Corey Main (55.02) and Wales’ Xavier Castelli (55.13).

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Women’s 100 Fly Semi-Final

Australia’s Maddie Groves put together a strong time of 57.22 to break Katerine Savard’s Games record of 57.40 from 2014 and qualify first for the final. Groves took 2017 off of international competition after winning silver in the 200 fly at the 2016 Olympics, but this effort is by far the best of her career in the 100 fly.

Canadian teeanager Rebecca Smith qualified second in 57.77, more than a half-second back of Groves, and Australia’s Emma McKeon took third in 57.94. For McKeon and Canada’s Penny Oleksiak, this was the second of three races in the evening session, after the 200 free final and before the 4×100 free relay. Oleksiak, the Olympic silver medalist in the 100 fly, qualified sixth in 58.29.

Isle of Man’s Charlotte Atkinson took fourth in 58.04, and Wales’ Alys Thomas was fifth in 58.17. Australia’s Brianna Throssell took seventh in 58.38, and Canada’s Mabel Zavaros qualified eighth in 58.62.

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Men’s 200 Breast FINAL

Scotland’s Ross Murdoch looked like he was in position to win a second straight Commonwealth gold medal in the 200 breast, but England’s James Wilby stormed home on the last 50 to steal the gold medal. Wilby touched in 2:08.05, just ahead of Murdoch in 2:08.32.

Wilby closed in 32.59 on the last 50, a full second faster than anyone else in the field and 1.37 faster than Murdoch on the way home.

Australia’s Matt Wilson claimed third in 2:08.64, denying England’s Andrew Willis (2:09.31) a medal. Australia’s George Harley took fifth in 2:10.04, and Craig Benson, in contention the entire race, faded to sixth in 2:10.09.

Scotland’s Calum Tait (2:11.67) and Canada’s Elijah Wall (2:11.94) rounded out the final.

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Women’s 4×100 Free Relay FINAL

After Bronte Campbell gave Australia a big lead in the 4×100 free relay final, the outcome was never in doubt. A few moments later, Bronte’s older sister, Cate Campbell, split an amazing 51.00 on the anchor leg to put Australia into world record territory.

The Aussies finished in 3:30.05, six tenths faster than the previous global standard set by Australia at the Rio Olympics. Shayna Jack (54.03), Bronte Campbell (52.03), Emma McKeon (52.99) and Cate Campbell comprised the team, and Campbell’s split ranks as by far the fastest in history.

The Canadian team was overshadowed by the tremendous Australian performance, but they put up a very solid time of 3:33.92 for second. Their team consisted of Alexia Zevnik, Kayla Sanchez, Penny Oleksiak and Taylor Ruck.

Oleksiak, the co-Olympic gold medalist in the 100 free, split a sluggish 54.33, but she had just swum the 100 fly semi-finals moments before. Ruck, meanwhile, put up a phenomenal split of 51.82 to bring that team home.

England, with Siobhan Marie O’Connor, Freya Anderson, Anna Hopkin and Eleanor Faulkner, took third in 3:38.40. New Zealand (3:43.77) and South Africa (3:46.04) also competed.

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