The women’s 100 fly final will also be a thriller, simply because both Emma McKeon and Maggie MacNeil are in action. This could turn out to be a match for the ages as these two are arguably the top 2,100 flyers in the world right now. The men’s 200 freestyle should also be entertaining, as men’s 400 freestyle champion Elijah Winnington will face a tough duo of Tom Dean and Duncan Scott.
Men’s 50 Fly Final
Commonwealth record: 22.73, Matt Targett (AUS), 2009 World Championships Commonwealth Games record: 22.93, Ben Proud (ENG), 2014 2018 Commonwealth Champion: Chad Le Clos (RSA), 23.37
Platform: Ben Proud left no doubt as he cruised to victory in tonight’s 50 fly final, smashing his own 8-year-old Commonwealth Games record of 22.93. The Gold marks Proud’s 4th individual CG Gold of his career and his 2nd CG title in the 50 fly. In addition, it was a much faster swim than the proud in the final of the World Championships, where he took 7th place in 23.08. The swim was off the 22.76 Proud swam in the semifinals at Worlds, which was the #1 qualifying time for finals. Similarly, Singapore’s Tzen Wei Teong was faster than he swam in the 50 fly at Worlds, where he clocked 23.29 for 8th place in the final. Tonight, he was 23.21, edging out New Zealand’s Cameron Gray for Silver. On the other hand, after a stunning performance at the World Championships, Dylan Carter of Trinidad and Tobago placed 4th tonight, finishing just outside the medal position in 23.28. That swim was well off the 22.85 Carter swam for 4th at Worlds last month, which is his personal best.
Women’s 50 breaststroke final
Platform: South Africa’s Lara van Niekerk won tonight, touching as the only woman under 30 seconds. The performance was van Niekerk’s second career best, coming just 0.01 seconds off her Commonwealth record personal best of 29.72. However, the swim again broke the Commonwealth Games record set by Niekerk this morning. Van Niekerk won bronze at the World Championships in 29.90. Her performance tonight would be good for Silver, just 0.03 behind Ruta Meilutyte’s 29.70 Gold medal. Behind Van Niekerk, the pitch was also incredible. England’s Imogen Louise Clark clocked 30.02 to break her own British record of 30.04, which has stood since 2018. Similarly, Australia’s Chelsea Hodges took 3rd tonight in 30.05, taking 0.10 seconds off since the Australian record set in April. Neither Clark nor Hodges ran the 50 breast at the World Champs last month, but their times tonight would have been good for 4th and 5th respectively if they had.
Women’s 50 Free Semi-Finals
CG record: 23.78, Cate Campbell (AUS), 2018
The top 8 qualifiers: Australia’s trio was dominant in the women’s 50 free semi-finals. Shayna Jack led the way, touching in 24.33, with Meg Harris (24.41) and Emma McKeon (24.51) close behind. It looks like only England’s Anna Hopkins has a chance of dismantling Australia by preventing a podium sweep. Hopkins was right on the 24.60 she swam in the semi-finals at the World Championships, posting a 24.66 this afternoon. She was slower at the Worlds finals, something she will want to reverse this time if she wants to win a medal. Meg Harris was also right in the 24.38 she swam at the World Champs to win Bronze. Jack’s swim tonight would be good for Bronze at Worlds if she was healthy enough to compete there.
Men’s 200 freestyle final
CG Record: 1:44.71, Ian Thorpe (AUS), 2002
Platform: It was a thrilling match but Scotland’s Duncan Scott had the superior half back tonight, pulling away from Tom Dean and Elijah Winnington just enough to secure the 2nd Commonwealth Games Gold of his career. Scott was outstanding late in the race, splitting 26.91 and 26.57 in the final 2 50s, for a 53.48 in the final 100. Scott’s time tonight was just shy of the 1:44.98 he took to medal at the World Championships last month, a time coincidentally swam by Tom Dean for bronze. Dean was just off that mark tonight, clocking a solid 1:45.41. Elijah Winnington was right in his performances at the World Champs, bettering the 1:45.82 he swam in the finals in Budapest, but coming up just short of the 1:45.53 he swam in the semifinals there.
Men’s S13 50 Freestyle Final
Platform: In a photo-finish, Canadian Nicolas Guy Turbide edged out Scotland’s Stephen Clegg by 0.01 seconds, the smallest margin in our sport. Guy swam extremely well this year, winning a gold medal at the World Championships where he won the S13 100 backstroke. He also won silver at the Paralympics last summer in Tokyo. Clegg is coming off a two-medal performance at the World Championships where he won gold in the S13 100 fly and silver in the S13 100 free. For bronze medalist Jacob Templeton, this marks his first major international medal.
Women’s S13 50 Freestyle Final
Platform: The women’s S13 50 free was a much less tight race than the men’s, seeing Australia’s Katja Dedekind retire from the competition in 26.56. Her performance was not only good for a dominant win, but also broke the S13 World Record. The previous record was 26.67 held by Carlotta Gilli. Dedekind is coming off a great showing at the World Championships, winning 3 medals. England’s Hannah Russell, an S12 swimmer, took Silver with 27.67. Russell is a highly awarded swimmer, having won 7 Paralympic medals, 11 World Championship medals and 9 European Championship medals during her career.
Men’s 100 breast semifinals
The top 8 qualifiers: Adam Peaty did Adam Peaty things again this afternoon, outscoring the field by well over half a second. It was a foregone conclusion early on, as Peaty posted a 27.15 in the opening 50, which bested the rest of the field. 200 breast world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook had a good swim this morning, clocking 59.80 thanks to a very strong 31.40 in the 2nd 50. Australia looks to be building their pool in the men’s breaststroke as they had 3 swimmers qualify for the final, all 3 under 1:00 tonight. Sam Williamson and Joshua Yong will be in tomorrow’s final alongside ZSC. This is an important development for Australia as they need a men’s 100 breaststroke that can compete on the world stage to bring the men’s medley relays on par with Great Britain, Italy and the USA.
Women’s 100 Back Semifinals
The top 8 qualifiers: One of the most anticipated racing events of the meet saw Kylie Masse top Kaylee McKeown in the semi-finals. Neither superstar running back was at the top of their game tonight as both were well under 58 seconds before, however, we can expect them to save their best for the final. Medi Harris had a really good swim tonight, setting herself up well to medal tomorrow. With Australian rising star Mollie O’Callaghan out, the field is wide open behind Masse and McKeown.
Men’s 400 IM Final
CG record: 4:11.04, Daniel Wallace (SCO), 2014 2018 Commonwealth Champion: Clyde Lewis (AUS) – 4:13.12
Platform:
GOLD: Lewis Clareburt (NZL), 4:08.70 SILVER: Brendon Smith (Australia), 4:10.15 BRONZE: Duncan Scott (SCO), 4:11.27
Lewis Clareburt took nearly two seconds off his personal best from last summer’s Olympics, smashing Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth records en route to victory. The 23-year-old Kiwi opened up a lead after the backstroke split before stretching it to an insurmountable advantage on the foreleg. Brendon Smith was also under the previous Commonwealth Games record of 4:10.15, and Duncan Scott completed a tough 200 free/400 IM double with a bronze medal in 4:11.27 less than an hour after his 200 triumph free. Matt Sates finished fourth about five seconds off his personal best from the Mare Nostrum Tour earlier this year.
Women’s 100 fly final
Platform: The highly anticipated duel between Olympic champion Maggie MacNeil and runner-up Emma McKeon did not disappoint. For the second race in a row, we saw another Commonwealth Games record fall courtesy of MacNeil, and she needed every bit of it to beat McKeon for gold by just 0.02 seconds. MacNeil’s 56.36 is her fastest this season and No. 4 in the world this year. McKeon was also under her previous record of 56.78 set in 2018. Both times would have won bronze at Worlds last month. Twenty six year old Aussie Brianna Throssell repeated her…
