Thorpe Glides to His Third Gold at the Commonwealth Games

MANCHESTER, July 31. AUSTRALIA, led by the incomparable Ian Thorpe, won three of the four gold medals up for grabs on Day Two of the Commonwealth Games, being held at the Manchester Aquatic Centre in Manchester, England.

Thorpe, and world champions Petria Thomas and Matt Welsh were the big guns for the Aussie, while Zoe Baker salvaged some pride for the host Brits, just missing her newly-set wotrld record in the process.

Men's 200m Freestyle
Thorpe won his third gold medal at the Commonwealth Games with victory in the 200 meter freestyle in 1:44.71, the third fastest 200 meters in history and a time only Thorpe, himself, has bettered. "I'm a little bit disappointed with the time," he said, "but I had probably the worst warm-up I've ever had.

"I swam it well, I just wasn't feeling 100 percent — not healthwise, I just wasn't with it as much as I was last night. I had a lot of sleep, plenty of time between the races, the heats and the finals. It's just one of those things. I probably haven't recovered as quick as I could have.

I've just had an off-day.

"It's still a great time and I'm happy at going under 1:45 but I would have been a bit happier if I had gone under 1:44 this evening."

Teammate Grant Hackett clocked 1:46.13 — just 2-hundredths off his pr — to earn silver once again. Canada's Rick Say was a distant third in 1:49.40.

Women's 50 meter Butterfly
Petria Thomas, a bronze medalist in the 200 free yesterday, won her first gold in her bid for medals in eight events when she won the women's 50 meter butterfly in a Games record 26.66 seconds. The time, however, was more than a second slower than Sweden's Anna-Karin Kamerling's world record 25.57, swum yesterday at the European Championships.

In Manchester, Nicole Irving made it a one-two Aussie sweep with hrt 27.13 second effort. Scotland's Alison Sheppard of Scotland took the bronze in 27.30.

Men's 50 meter Backstroke
World champion Matt Welsh gave Australia its third gold of the night, but not before he fended off a major challenge by Malaysia's (and University of california's) Alex Lim.

Welsh took the 50 meter backstroke in a Games record 25.65 seconds, 2-hundredths ahead of Lim. South Africa's Gerhard Zandberg was third in 25.89.

Welsh commented: "When I was coming down the length I just wanted to touch out everyone else. I didn't realize it was as close as it was. But I did it, that was all I needed.

"I like to leave a little bit up my sleeve, so in this case, I guess, 0.02 was enough. I attacked and was aggressive, there wasn't a point where I thought I couldn't keep going. That's a good feeling. To feel powerful all the way through."

A happy Lim commented: "I was expecting to get a medal. I've been good this year so far. I'm defending champion in Malaysia. I've been swimming since the age of seven and now I train in the U.S. at the University of California."

Women's 50 meter Breaststroke
Zoe Baker, who devastated the women's 50 meter breaststroke world record in yesterday's semifinals with a 30.57 seond effort, won easily tonight with history's second-fastest swim, 30.60. Her win gave England its second victory of the Games.

After her swim, Baker commented: "I was so happy about that. But tonight was about winning the gold, although I wanted to shave a bit more off the time.

"I can't complain though. It's the second-fastest time I've ever done and it felt good. Maybe I was a little bit tense, and there's a bit more left in me yet."

South Africa's Sarah Poewe, who suffered neck and arm injuries in a car accident earlier this month, took the silver in 31.73, with Australia's Tarnee White the bronze medalist, one-hundredth of a second behind.

Women's Multi-disability 50 meter Freestyle
Eighteen year-old South African Natalie du Toit, who had her left leg amputated at the knee after a motor scooter accident in February 2001, won the first-ever multi-disability women's 50 meter freestyle, clocking 29.68 seconds. In the heats she set a world record of 29.53 for the S9 category

Du Toit, who competed in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in the 200 fly, is entered in the 800 free later in the week.

Today's Semifinals
England's Sarah Price set a Commoinwealth Games and national record 1:01.14 in the semis of the women's 100 meter backstroke. She goes into the final a solid favorite, with her ndearest pursuer in the semis — Dyana Calub of Australia — almost a full second behind.

Geoff Huegill set a Games record in the semis of the 50 meter butterfly. His 23.62 is not far off his own world record of 23.44. South Africa's Roland Schoeman, a former University of Arizona star, qualified second in 23.99.

England, led by Adam Whitehead's Games record 1:01.05, qualified in the top three spots in the men's 100 meter breaststroke. Whitehead, Darren Mew (1:01.66) and James Gibson (1:01.82) were the only swimmers under 1:02.

Australia's Jodie Henry led all qualifiers in the semis of the women's 100 free with her 55.43. England's Karen Legg, at 55.94, was the only other swimmer to dip below 56 seconds.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Manchester Aquatics Centre
Manchester, England
DAY TWO: July 31, 2002
RESULTS

Women's 50m Butterfly Final
WR: 25.64 – KAMMERLING Anna-Karin (SWE) – Berlin (GER) – 30 Jul 2002
GR: 26.66 – THOMAS Petria (AUS) – Manchester (ENG) – 31 Jul 2002

1 4 THOMAS Petria
Australia (AUS) 0.74 26.66 (GR)

2 5 IRVING Nicole
Australia (AUS) 0.74 27.13

3 3 SHEPPARD Alison
Scotland (SCO) 0.80 27.30

4 2 BRETT Rosalind
England (ENG) 0.82 27.41

5 6 LOOTS Mandy
South Africa (RSA) 0.75 27.55

6 1 YEO Joscelin
Singapore (SIN) 0.79 27.88

7 7 MARTIN Kerry
Scotland (SCO) 0.76 27.94

8 8 HANCOCKS Karla
Wales (WAL) 0.78 28.22

Men's 50m Backstroke Final
WR: 24.99 – KRAYZELBURG Lenny (USA) – AUS (Syd) – 28 Aug 1999
GR: 25.65 – WELSH Matt (AUS) – Manchester (ENG) – 31 Jul 2002

1 4 WELSH Matt
Australia (AUS) 25.65 (GR)

2 6 LIM Alex
Malaysia (MAS) 25.67

3 3 ZANDBERG Gerhard
South Africa (RSA) 25.89

4 5 JANES Riley
Canada (CAN) 26.05

5 7 VELDMAN James Gordon
Canada (CAN) 26.20

6 2 ROLFF Ethan
Australia (AUS) 26.47

7 8 HARRIS Martin
England (ENG) 26.56

8 1 van DER ZANT Robert
Australia (AUS) 26.67

Women's 50m Breaststroke Final
WR: 30.57 – BAKER Zoe (ENG) – Manchester (ENG) – 30 Jul 2002
GR: 30.57 – BAKER Zoe (ENG) – Manchester (ENG) – 30 Jul 2002

1 4 BAKER Zoe
England (ENG) 0.75 30.60 +

2 7 POEWE Sarah
South Africa (RSA) 0.75 31.73

3 3 WHITE Tarnee
Australia (AUS) 0.75 31.74

4 5 JONES Leisel
Australia (AUS) 0.84 32.01

5 6 LEIER Rhiannon
Canada (CAN) 0.81 32.28

6 2 ROBINSON Emma
Northern Ireland (NIR) 0.76 32.41

7 8 HAYWOOD Kate
England (ENG) 0.91 32.57

8 1 KASOULIS Sarah
Australia (AUS) 0.81 32.86

Men's 200m Freestyle Final
WR: 1:44.06 – THORPE Ian (AUS) – JPN (Fuk) – 25 Jul 2001
GR: 1:44.71 – THORPE Ian (AUS) – Manchester (ENG) – 31 Jul 2002

1 4 THORPE Ian
Australia (AUS) 0.81 1:44.71 (GR) Splits

50 m 24.63 (1)
24.63 () 100 m 51.35 (1)
26.72 () 150 m 1:18.25 (1)
26.90 ()

2 5 HACKETT Grant
Australia (AUS) 0.79 1:46.13 Splits

50 m 24.93 (2)
24.93 () 100 m 51.83 (2)
26.90 () 150 m 1:18.97 (2)
27.14 ()

3 3 SAY Rick
Canada (CAN) 0.76 1:49.40 Splits

50 m 25.99 (5)
25.99 () 100 m 53.57 (4)
27.58 () 150 m 1:21.54 (3)
27.97 ()

4 7 SALTER Jamie
England (ENG) 0.87 1:50.01 Splits

50 m 25.71 (4)
25.71 () 100 m 53.57 (4)
27.86 () 150 m 1:22.04 (4)
28.47 ()

5 2 JOHNS Brian Lawrence
Canada (CAN) 0.86 1:50.27 Splits

50 m 26.17 (7)
26.17 () 100 m 54.47 (8)
28.30 () 150 m 1:23.03 (8)
28.56 ()

6 1 CRAM Jason
Australia (AUS) 0.83 1:50.30 Splits

50 m 26.22 (8)
26.22 () 100 m 54.38 (7)
28.16 () 150 m 1:22.50 (6)
28.12 ()

7 6 JOHNSTON Mark
Canada (CAN) 0.86 1:51.18 Splits

50 m 25.65 (3)
25.65 () 100 m 53.41 (3)
27.76 () 150 m 1:22.27 (5)
28.86 ()

8 8 CARRY David
Scotland (SCO) 0.86 1:51.22 Splits

50 m 26.10 (6)
26.10 () 100 m 54.24 (6)
28.14 () 150 m 1:22.76 (7)
28.52 ()

Women's EAD 50m Freestyle – Multi Disability Final
WR: 34.95 S7 – CAMPO Danielle (CAN) – Christchurch () – 13 Oct 1998

27.38 S13 – HOPF Yvonne (GER) – Atlanta () – 25 Aug 1996
33.02 S11 – NILSSON Eila (SWE) – Atlanta () – 25 Aug 1996
28.16 S12 – ZHU Hongyan (CHN) – Madrid () – 25 Jul 1998
1:15.46 S2 – BROADRIBB Vicky (ENG) – Sydney () – 27 Oct 2000
36.85 S5 – HESS Beatrice (FRA) – Sydney () – 27 Oct 2000
59.92 S3 – HOFFMANOVA Jana (CZE) – Sydney () – 27 Oct 2000
39.23 S4 – NARITA Mayumi (JPN) – Sydney () – 27 Oct 2000
36.02 S6 – GONZALEZ Dora (MEX) – Sydney () – 28 Oct 2000
31.85 S8 – LEIBOVITCH Keren (ISR) – Sydney () – 28 Oct 2000
28.44 S10 – SLOAN Jessica (CAN) – Sydney () – 28 Oct 2000
29.53 S9 – du TOIT Natalie (RSA) – Manchester () – 31 Jul 2002
1:34.24 S1 – WATTS Danielle (ENG) – Sheffield () – 7 Jun 2002

GR: 31.34 S10 – BAILEY Sarah (ENG) – Manchester () – 31 Jul 2002
34.46 S11 – BARRETT Elaine (ENG) – Manchester () – 31 Jul 2002
58.85 S8 – BAUN SELING Matia (MAS) – Manchester () – 31 Jul 2002
35.02 S7 – CAMPO Danielle (CAN) – Manchester () – 31 Jul 2002
29.53 S9 – du TOIT Natalie (RSA) – Manchester () – 31 Jul 2002
51.05 S5 – GOH Rui Si Theresa (SIN) – Manchester () – 31 Jul 2002
29.88 S13 – PELENDRITOU Karolina (CYP) – Manchester () – 31 Jul 2002

1 4 du TOIT Natalie
South Africa (RSA) 29.68

2 5 DIXON Stephanie
Canada (CAN) 30.60

3 3 CAMPO Danielle
Canada (CAN) 35.02 (GR)

4 6 LEY Dianna
Australia (AUS) 31.79

5 2 BARRETT Elaine
England (ENG) 34.46 (GR)

6 7 FERGUSON Lara
Scotland (SCO) 32.75

7 1 BAILEY Kate
Australia (AUS) 32.82

8 8 PELENDRITOU Karolina
Cyprus (CYP) 29.88 (GR)

Men's 50m Butterfly Semifinals
WR: 23.44 – HUEGILL Geoff (AUS) – JPN (Fuk) – 27 Jul 2001
GR: 23.62 – HUEGILL Geoff (AUS) – Manchester (ENG) – 31 Jul 2002

Semi Final 1
1 4 PINE Adam
Australia (AUS) 0.71 24.11 q

2 5 HAWKE Brett
Australia (AUS) 0.78 24.45 q

3 3 BLACK Cameron
Scotland (SCO) 0.61 24.62 q

4 2 VERSTER Theo
South Africa (RSA) 0.75 24.81

5 1 BENNETT David
England (ENG) 0.78 24.85

6 8 HICKMAN James
England (ENG) 0.76 24.93

7 6 COOPER Todd
Scotland (SCO) 0.68 25.03

8 7 ODENDAAL Hendrik
South Africa (RSA) 0.69 25.08

Semi Final 2
1 4 HUEGILL Geoff
Australia (AUS) 0.74 23.62 (GR) q

2 5 SCHOEMAN Roland
South Africa (RSA) 0.73 23.99 q

3 3 MINTENKO Mike
Canada (CAN) 0.68 24.15 q

4 6 WINTER Jonathan
New Zealand (NZL) 0.74 24.44 q

5 1 FOSTER Mark
England (ENG) 0.97 24.55 q

6 2 PINI Ryan
Papua New Guinea (PNG) 0.78 24.93

7 7 SHEERAN Nicholas
New Zealand (NZL) 0.76 25.02

8 8 BURMESTER Moss
New Zealand (NZL) 0.74 25.50

Men's 100m Breaststroke Semifinals
WR: 59.94 – SLUDNOV Roman (RUS) – JPN (Fuk) – 23 Jul 2001
GR: 1:01.05 – WHITEHEAD Adam (ENG) – Manchester (ENG) – 31 Jul 2002

Semi Final 1

1 4 WHITEHEAD Adam
England (ENG) 0.74 1:01.05 (GR) q Splits

50 m 28.58 (1)
28.58 ()

2 6 PETERSEN Brett
South Africa (RSA) 0.77 1:02.33 q Splits

50 m 28.73 (2)
28.73 ()

3 3 PIPER Jim
Australia (AUS) 0.82 1:02.68 q Splits

50 m 29.32 (3)
29.32 ()

4 5 BROWN Michael
Canada (CAN) 0.79 1:02.70 q Splits

50 m 30.03 (6)
30.03 ()

5 2 HARRISON Regan
Australia (AUS) 0.70 1:02.81 Splits

50 m 29.78 (4)
29.78 ()

6 7 NORRIS Justin
Australia (AUS) 0.75 1:03.34 Splits

50 m 29.92 (5)
29.92 ()

7 1 WILLIAMSON Michael
Northern Ireland (NIR) 0.76 1:04.90 Splits

50 m 30.62 (8)
30.62 ()

8 8 CROSS Andrei
Barbados (BAR) 0.83 1:06.07 Splits

50 m 30.58 (7)
30.58 ()

Semi Final 2

1 7 MEW Darren
England (ENG) 0.82 1:01.66 q Splits

50 m 28.67 (2)
28.67 ()

2 6 GIBSON James
England (ENG) 0.86 1:01.82 q Splits

50 m 28.63 (1)
28.63 ()

3 4 KNABE Morgan
Canada (CAN) 0.77 1:02.00 q Splits

50 m 28.84 (3)
28.84 ()

4 5 PARKIN Terence
South Africa (RSA) 0.74 1:02.62 q Splits

50 m 29.40 (4)
29.40 ()

5 3 EDMOND Ian
Scotland (SCO) 0.83 1:02.94 Splits

50 m 29.57 (5)
29.57 ()

6 2 BREE Andrew
Northern Ireland (NIR) 0.79 1:03.45 Splits

50 m 29.92 (6)
29.92 ()

7 1 STAMHUIS John
Canada (CAN) 0.78 1:04.44 Splits

50 m 30.53 (8)
30.53 ()

8 8 NIENABER Wickus
Swaziland (SWZ) 0.81 1:05.16 Splits

50 m 30.52 (7)
30.52 ()

Women's 100m Freestyle Semifinals
WR: 53.77 – DE BRUIJN Inge (NED) – Sydney (AUS) – 20 Sep 2000
GR: 55.17 – ROLPH Sue (ENG) – Kuala Lumpur (MAS) – 12 Sep 1998

Semi Final 1

1 5 RYAN Sarah
Australia (AUS) 0.72 56.07 q Splits

50 m 26.85 (1)
26.85 ()

2 4 SHEPPARD Alison
Scotland (SCO) 0.85 56.10 q Splits

50 m 27.33 (2)
27.33 ()

2 6 PICKERING Karen
England (ENG) 0.80 56.10 q Splits

50 m 27.64 (4)
27.64 ()

4 3 THOMAS Petria
Australia (AUS) 0.74 56.45 q Splits

50 m 27.57 (3)
27.57 ()

5 7 LEACH Mandy
Zimbabwe (ZIM) 0.80 56.89 Splits

50 m 27.73 (7)
27.73 ()

6 1 POMEROY Laura
Canada (CAN) 0.78 57.48 Splits

50 m 27.71 (6)
27.71 ()

7 8 DOUGLAS Julie
Northern Ireland (NIR) 0.87 57.96 Splits

50 m 27.66 (5)
27.66 ()

8 2 PICKERING Caroline
Fiji (FIJ) 0.92 58.11 Splits

50 m 27.77 (8)
27.77 ()

Semi Final 2

1 4 HENRY Jodie
Australia (AUS) 0.91 55.43 q Splits

50 m 27.38 (2)
27.38 ()

2 5 LEGG Karen
England (ENG) 0.84 55.94 q Splits

50 m 27.55 (4)
27.55 ()

3 3 MULLER Helene
South Africa (RSA) 0.76 56.05 q Splits

50 m 27.58 (5)
27.58 ()

4 6 MARSHALL Melanie
England (ENG) 0.78 56.27 q Splits

50 m 27.47 (3)
27.47 ()

5 2 NICHOLLS Laura
Canada (CAN) 0.91 56.46 Splits

50 m 27.32 (1)
27.32 ()

6 7 YEO Joscelin
Singapore (SIN) 0.76 57.13 Splits

50 m 27.97 (8)
27.97 ()

7 1 DAVIES Catrin
Wales (WAL) 0.82 57.59 Splits

50 m 27.87 (6)
27.87 ()

8 8 JEFFS Toni
New Zealand (NZL) 0.83 58.27 Splits

50 m 27.93 (7)
27.93 ()

Women's 100m Backstroke Semifinals
WR: 1:00.16 – HE Cihong (CHN) – ITA (Rom) – 10 Sep 1994
GR: 1:01.14 – PRICE Sarah (ENG) – Manchester (ENG) – 31 Jul 2002

Semi Final 1

1 4 CALUB Dyana
Australia (AUS) 1:02.06 Splits

50 m 30.03 (1)
30.03 ()

2 6 FARGUS Jo
England (ENG) 1:02.86 Splits

50 m 30.67 (3)
30.67 ()

3 3 STONEY Clementine
Australia (AUS) 1:02.93 Splits

50 m 30.78 (4)
30.78 ()

4 5 WITTSTOCK Charlene Lynette
South Africa (RSA) 1:02.97 Splits

50 m 30.33 (2)
30.33 ()

5 7 INGRAM Melissa Jane
New Zealand (NZL) 1:03.22 Splits

50 m 31.03 (6)
31.03 ()

6 2 LISCHINSKY Michelle
Canada (CAN) 1:03.29 Splits

50 m 30.89 (5)
30.89 ()

7 1 COOLE Bethan Francis
Wales (WAL) 1:06.41 Splits

50 m 32.31 (7)
32.31 ()

8 8 HADJIANTONIOU Antri
Cyprus (CYP) 1:08.68 Splits

50 m 33.46 (8)
33.46 ()

Semi Final 2

1 4 PRICE Sarah
England (ENG) 1:01.14 (GR) Splits

50 m 29.97 (1)
29.97 ()

2 2 ROONEY Giaan
Australia (AUS) 1:02.20 Splits

50 m 30.45 (3)
30.45 ()

3 3 McLEAN Hannah
New Zealand (NZL) 1:02.27 Splits

50 m 30.16 (2)
30.16 ()

4 5 COVENTRY Kirsty Leigh
Zimbabwe (ZIM) 1:02.55 Splits

50 m 30.79 (6)
30.79 ()

5 7 GAMMEL Erin
Canada (CAN) 1:02.64 Splits

50 m 30.45 (3)
30.45 ()

6 6 SEXTON Katy
England (ENG) 1:03.37 Splits

50 m 30.75 (5)
30.75 ()

7 1 STEFANYSHYN Kelly
Canada (CAN) 1:03.47 Splits

50 m 31.49 (7)
31.49 ()

8 8 BREE Natalie
Jersey (JER) 1:08.26 Splits

50 m 32.94 (8)
32.94 ()

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