Commonwealth Games – Semifinal Recap: Emma McKeon, Maggie Mac Neil Set Stage For Another Golden Duel; Chalmers Breaks Meet Record

maggie-macneil-emma-mckeon-100-fly-world-championships-2019

Commonwealth Games – Semifinal Recap: Emma McKeon and Maggie Mac Neil Set Stage For Another Golden Duel

A pair of one-lap sprints and the much-anticipated men’s 100 freestyle account for the semifinals on the Day Three schedule at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. The men’s 50 backstroke will start the session, followed by the women’s 50 butterfly featuring the latest clash between Canadian Maggie Mac Neil and Australia’s Emma McKeon. The last semifinal is the men’s 100 freestyle, with Aussie Kyle Chalmers and Great Britain’s Tom Dean as the headliners.

Here is what unfolded in semifinal action from the Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

Men’s 50 Backstroke

South African Pieter Coetze is one lap away from a second title at these Commonwealth Games, as he clocked the fastest time of the semifinals in the 50 backstroke. One heat after New Zealand’s Andrew Jeffcoat posted a mark of 24.82, Coetze was slightly better with a swim of 24.81. Coetze was coming off a triumph in the 100 backstroke. Qualifying in the third and fourth positions were Aussies Ben Armbruster (25.21) and Bradley Woodward (25.25).

Photo Courtesy:

Women’s 50 Butterfly

Australia’s Emma McKeon and Canada’s Maggie Mac Neil are set to resume their friendly rivalry, as they each comfortably advanced to the final of the 50 butterfly. Mac Neil and McKeon won gold and silver, respectively, in the 100 butterfly earlier in the meet, and will now battle for the 50 fly crown. McKeon claimed the top seed for the title race in 26.02 while Mac Neil was third in 26.19. In between was South Africa’s Erin Gallagher, who touched in 26.17.

Photo Courtesy:

Meet Results

Men’s 100 Freestyle

The men’s 100 freestyle semifinals saw two swimmers break 48 seconds and break the previous Commonwealth Games record.

Australia’s Kyle Chalmers took the top seed heading into finals with a semifinal swim of 47.36. Meanwhile, England’s Tom Dean touched the wall in 47.83, just behind Chalmers, to also break the previous Commonwealth Games record of 27.98 set by Canada’s Brent Hayden in 2010.

Australia’s William Xu Yang took the third seed in 48.38, followed by Canada’s Russian Gaziev (48.54) and Joshua Liendo (48.69). Scotland’s Duncan Scott was sixth at 48.78, followed by England’s Jacob Whittle (48.82) and Australia’s Zac Incerti (48.91).

All eight finalists were within a second of the previous Commonwealth Games record, and with the speed at the top of the class in the finals, there could be more go under that mark.

Screen Shot 2022-07-31 at 3.22.41 PM

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use