Commonwealth Games Day Two: Australia Wins Six Golds; Five Games Records Fall

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Australia's Kyle Chalmers -- Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr/Swimming Australia Ltd.

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During the second night of finals at the Commonwealth Games, Australia took home six gold medals, including one in each of the last five finals of the night. Among the highlights, Kyle Chalmers returned to international waters with a stunning effort in the 200 free before anchoring the Aussie 4×100 free relay team to gold, and the Australians also swept the top three spots in the women’s 100 fly.

In semi-final action, world record-holders Adam Peaty and Kylie Masse each qualified first in their best events (100 breast and 100 back, respectively). Four of the five Games records that were broken came in semi-finals.

Read below for event-by-event full coverage.

Full results

Men’s 50 Fly FINAL

South Africa’s Chad Le Clos rebounded from the slowest start in the field to come through and take the gold medal in the 50 fly. He touched in a time of 23.37, three tenths ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter. The medal was his fifth gold at the Commonwealth Games and 12th total medal but first ever in the 50 fly.

Carter took second in 23.67, becoming the first-ever Commonwealth swimming medalist for Trinidad and Tobago, while South Africa’s Ryan Coetzee took bronze in 23.73. Coetzee denied Australia’s Grant Irvine from earning a medal by three hundredths, as Irvine finished fourth in 23.76.

New Zealand teammates Daniel Hunter (23.87) and Sam Perry (23.96) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, followed by England’s Jacob Peters (24.00) and Australia’s David Morgan (24.01).

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Women’s 50 Breast FINAL

Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson was the gold-medal favorite after she swam a quick 30.53 in the 50 breast semi-final, but England’s Sarah Vasey took her down in the final, 30.60 to 30.73. For Vasey, 21, the medal was her first at a major international competition.

Australia’s Leiston Pickett, the two-time defending champion in the 50 breast, came in just two hundredths behind Atkinson for the bronze. She was followed by South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker, who set a new African record in finishing fourth at 30.82.

Aussies Jessica Hansen (30.83) and Georgia Bohl (30.88) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, followed by Canada’s Faith Knelson (30.98) and Singapore’s Roanne Ho (31.32).

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Men’s 200 Free FINAL

Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, the Olympic gold medalist in the 100 free, missed the entire 2017 season while dealing with a heart condition, and in his return to international racing, he took control of the Commonwealth 200 free final on the final turn and pulled away to win the race.

Chalmers touched in 1:45.56, and teammate Mack Horton finished second in 1:45.89 to make it a 1-2 finish for the host nation. Chalmers, a 100 free specialist, and Horton, a distance specialist, rarely compete in the same event, but their crossing of paths in the 200 produced a special moment.

Scotland’s Duncan Scott finished with the bronze medal, touching in 1:46.30. That denied England’s James Guy, who led at the 150, a medal. Guy, the 2015 World Champion in the event, took fourth in 1:46.40.

South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, who went directly to the blocks after his 50 fly gold medal ceremony, took the race out hard, six tenths ahead of anyone else at the first 50, but he faded badly down the stretch. Le Clos ended up seventh in 1:47.46.

Wales’ Calum Jarvis finished fifth in 1:46.53, and Australia’s Alexander Graham took sixth (1:46.01). Scotland’s Stephen Milne took eighth in 1:48.52.

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Women’s 50 Free Semi-Finals

Australia’s Cate Campbell, fresh off her 51.00 split from the 4×100 free relay Thursday night, put up a scorching semi-final time of 23.88 to claim lane four for the final. Her time of 23.88 was a new Commonwealth Games record and just two tenths off Sarah Sjostrom’s world record of 23.67. The time ranks as the 11th-fastest performance of all-time.

Campbell’s younger sister Bronte took the second seed in 24.38, and their 19-year-old training partner Shayna Jack qualified third in 24.63. The only other swimmer to break 25 was Canada’s Taylor Ruck, who put up a time of 24.72.

Others into the final included South Africa’s Erin Gallagher (25.03), Canada’s Kayla Sanchez (25.20), England’s Anna Hopkin (25.33) and Northern Ireland’s Danielle Hill (25.80).

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Men’s 100 Breast Semi-finals

England’s Adam Peaty finished a second and a half off his own world record in the 100 breast, but he still qualified first for the final by more than a second. Peaty cruised to a time of 58.59 to take the top spot back for the final.

Peaty’s countryman James Wilby qualified second in 59.69, and South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh took third in 59.74. Van der Burgh, Peaty’s predecessor as Olympic gold medalist in the event, went out with Peaty in their semi-final before falling back to third. He swam a time of 59.74.

Australia’s Matt Wilson also broke 1:00, finishing in 59.89, and also making the final were Australia’s Jake Packard (1:00.01), Scotland’s Ross Murdoch (1:00.07), Scotland’s Craig Benson (1:00.42) and England’s Andrew Willis (1:01.29).

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Women’s S9 100 Back FINAL

England’s Alice Tai dominated the S9 100 back final, finishing almost three seconds ahead of the field in 1:08.77. That was off her own world record of 1:07.66 but plenty to earn a gold medal.

Australia rounded out the podium as Ellie Cole took second in 1:11.51 and Ashleigh McConnell finished third in 1:!5.93. Their teammate Madeline Scott just missed the podium with a 1:16.12, good for fourth place.

Also swimming in the final were Scotland’s Toni Shaw (1:16.79), New Zealand’s Tupou Neiufi (1:17.10) and India’s Kiran Tak (1:47.95).

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Men’s S9 100 Free FINAL

Australia’s Timothy Disken roared to Commonwealth gold in the men’s S9 100 free, putting up a time of 56.07 that was seven tenths better than England’s Lewis White. Disken’s win broke England’s three-event winning streak in Para events to begin the meet.

White took second in 56.77, and Australia’s Brendan Hall joined Disken on the podium with a 57.90. Another Aussie, Timothy Hodge, took fourth in 58.11.

Others in the field included New Zealand’s Chris Arbuthnott (58.65), New Zealand’s Jesse Reynolds (1:00.03), Northern Ireland’s Barry McClements (1:00.34) and England’s Jacob Leach (1:02.04).

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Women’s 100 Back Semi-Finals

Canada’s Kylie Masse, the world record-holder in the 100 back, went out under her own WR pace and ended up coming in at 58.66 to break her own Commonwealth Games record set in prelims. Before Friday, no woman had ever swum under 59 at a Commonwealth Games, with Emily Seebohm’s Games record standing at 59.37.

Australia’s Seebohm qualified second for the final in 58.95, and finishing well back in third was Canada’s Taylor Ruck (1:00.06). Ruck qualified to swim both the 50 free and 100 back finals Saturday.

Others securing finals spots included Australia’s Kaylee McKeown (1:00.11), Wales’ Georgia Davies (1:00.33), Canada’s Jade Hannah (1:00.37) and Australia’s Hayley Baker (1:00.63). Scotland’s Kathleen Dawson and England’s Lizzie Simmonds tied for eighth in 1:00.67 and will swim off for the last spot in the final.

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Men’s 400 IM FINAL

Australia’s Clyde Lewis took the lead on the backstroke leg of the 400 IM final at the Commonwealth Games and held tough through the breast and free, even as Scotland’s Mark Szaranek closed in. Lewis touched first in 4:13.12, with Szaranek taking the silver medal in 4:13.72.

New Zealand won its first medal of the Games when Lewis Clareburt claimed bronze in 4:14.42.

South Africa’s Aryton Sweeney took fourth in 4:17.79), ahead of New Zealand’s Bradlee Ashby (4:18.61), England’s Joe Litchfield (4:19.41), Canada’s Tristan Cote (4:20.29) and Australia’s Travis Mahoney (4:21.50).

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Men’s 100 Back FINAL

Australia’s Mitch Larkin held a narrow lead at the halfway point of the 100 back final, but he quickly pulled away to comfortably win the gold medal. Larkin, the 2015 World Champion in the event, finished in 53.18, just off Chris Walker-Hebborn’s Games record of 53.12 set four years ago.

The Aussie men finished 1-2 with Bradley Woodward taking second in 53.95. Canada’s Markus Thormeyer grabbed the bronze in 54.14.

England’s Luke Greenbank grabbed fourth in 54.37, and Wales’ Xavier Castelli took fifth in 54.60, just ahead of Australia’s Ben Treffers (54.62). Also in the final were New Zealand’s Corey Main (54.88) and Northern Ireland’s Conor Ferguson (55.01).

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Women’s 100 Fly FINAL

Australia’s Emma McKeon pulled away from teammates Maddie Groves and Brianne Throssell down the stretch to capture gold in the 100 fly, and the Aussies ended up sweeping the top three spots. McKeon finished in 56.78, lowering the Games record of 57.22 that Groves set in the semi-finals.

Groves also broke her old record, taking second in 57.19, and Throssell was not far away either, finishing third in 57.30. Canada’s Penny Oleksiak, the Olympic silver medalist in the event, finished just off the podium with a time of 57.50.

Isle of Man’s Charlotte Atkinson took fifth in 57.88, touching out Canada’s Rebecca Smith (57.91). Wales’ Alys Thomas finished seventh in 58.06, and Canada’s Mabel Zavaros was eighth in 58.98.

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Men’s 4×100 Free Relay

Australia capped off the second evening of swimming at the Commonwealth Games with its sixth gold medal of the night in the men’s 4×100 free relay. The team of Cameron McEvoy (48.91), James Magnussen (48.09), Jack Cartwright (47.71) and Kyle Chalmers (48.25) put up a time of 3:12.96.

Chalmers, after winning the 200 free earlier in the night, didn’t have to do much on the anchor leg as the Aussies already had a big lead. The team came up short of the Games record of 3:12.72, set by McEvoy, Magnussen, Cartwright and James Roberts in prelims.

England’s team of David CumberlidgeBen ProudJarvis Parkinson and James Guy took silver in 3:15.25, and Scotland, with Duncan ScottJack ThorpeKieran McGuckin and Stephen Milne, earned bronze in 3:15.86.

New Zealand finished fourth in 3:16.60, ahead of Canada (3:16.60), South Africa (3:17.37) and Northern Ireland (3:20.03). Sri Lanka was disqualified.

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