2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES
- Thursday, April 5th – Tuesday, April 10th (swimming)
- Optus Aquatic Centre, Gold Coast, Australia
- Prelims at 10:30am local (8:30pm previous night EDT)
- Finals at 7:30pm local (5:30am EDT)
- Official Commonwealth Games website
- Entries
- Meet Schedule + Results
- Live Stream (Canada)
- Live Stream (US)
- Live Stream (Australia)
Day 4 finals are guaranteed to be action packed from the 2018 Commonwealth Games, with multiple world records potentially at risk.
Cate Campbell, Adam Peaty, Kylie Masse, and maybe even Emily Seebohm all have a legitimate shot at cracking a world record tonight. Peaty and Masse own the men’s 100 breast and women’s 100 back records, and Masse was within half a second of her mark in the semi-finals. Seebohm will challenge her in that event, while Campbell will shoot for Sarah Sjostrom‘s mark of 23.67 in the 50 free after going 23.88 in the semis.
We’ll also see the men’s 200 fly final, featuring reigning world champ Chad Le Clos, along with British freestyler Duncan Scott and surprise top seed Mack Darragh of Canada. James Guy, who qualified for this final in 8th, has withdrawn due to dehydration. Le Clos and Scott will both double on the night as they’re slated to compete in the 100 free semis later in the session, where Australian Kyle Chalmers is the top seed.
We’ll also have the women’s 200 breast final, semi-final action in the men’s 50 back and women’s 50 fly, and the timed final of the women’s 4×200 free relay.
MEN’S 200 FLY FINAL
CG Record: 1:55.07, Chad Le Clos (RSA), 2014
- Chad Le Clos, South Africa, 1:54.00
- David Morgan, Australia, 1:56.36
- Duncan Scott, Scotland, 1:56.60
Out in typical Chad Le Clos form, the South African was out like a bullet in the men’s 200 fly, leading from start to finish to ultimately win gold in a new Games record of 1:54.00. That gives Le Clos three consecutive Commonwealth titles in the event.
Australian David Morgan held strong throughout to take the silver in 1:56.36, and Duncan Scott ran down Grant Irvine to win the bronze, 1:56.60 to 1:56.91. Jacob Peters of England was 5th in 1:57.75, and top seed from prelims Mack Darragh was 6th in 1:57.81.
WOMEN’S 50 FREE FINAL
CG Record: 23.88, Cate Campbell (AUS), 2018
- Cate Campbell, Australia, 23.78
- Bronte Campbell, Australia / Taylor Ruck, Canada, 24.26
- –
Cate Campbell chopped another tenth off her Games record from the semis, winning the gold medal in 23.78. That knocks 0.01 off her existing Commonwealth, Oceanic and Australian Record of 23.79 set earlier this year.
As expected Bronte Campbell won silver in 24.26, but the big surprise was Canadian Taylor Ruck, who tied her to also win silver. Ruck did so breaking the Canadian Record, taking over a tenth off Chantal van Landeghem‘s 2015 mark.
Bronze favorite Shayna Jack ended up 4th in 24.57, with South Africa’s Erin Gallagher 5th in 25.03.
MEN’S 100 BREAST FINAL
- CG Record: 58.59, Adam Peaty (ENG), 2018
- Adam Peaty, England, 58.84
- James Wilby, England, 59.43
- Cameron van der Burgh, South Africa, 59.44
It wasn’t quite as fast as he would’ve wanted, but England’s Adam Peaty still came away with the gold medal in the men’s 100 breast, posting a time of 58.84. Peaty was just off his Games record of 58.59 from the semis.
200 breast gold medalist James Wilby, Peaty’s English teammate, came home quicker than the world record holder to steal the silver, splitting 27.9/31.4 to clock 59.43. He made up nearly a full second on speedster Cameron van der Burgh coming home, clipping him by .01 as the South African settled for bronze in 59.44.
Australian Jake Packard (59.70) and Scotland’s Ross Murdoch (59.89) also cracked a minute to take 4th and 5th.
WOMEN’S 100 BACK FINAL
CG Record: 58.66, Kylie Masse (CAN), 2018
- Kylie Masse, Canada, 58.63
- Emily Seebohm, Australia, 58.66
- Taylor Ruck, Canada, 58.97
There was nothing in the women’s 100 back final, with Emily Seebohm flipping just .03 ahead of Kylie Masse at the 50 in 28.38. Masse, known to come home well, charged back and got the Australian at the wall, winning in 58.63. That swim lowers her Games Record of 58.66 set in the semi-finals.
Seebohm equalled that record from the semis, touching in 58.66 for silver. Fresh off a silver and National Record in the 50 free, Taylor Ruck had a huge best time to win bronze in 58.97. She was out about three tenths slower than Masse and Seebohm at the 50 and essentially was able to match them on the way home. She once again lowers her 15-17 Canadian Age Group Record.
Australian Kaylee McKeown was 4th in 1:00.08, and Georgia Davies of Wales was 5th in 1:00.17.
MEN’S 50 BACK SEMI-FINALS
- CG Record: 24.62, Liam Tancock (ENG), 2010
- Mitch Larkin, Australia, 24.91
- Ben Treffers, Australia, 24.99
- Zac Incerti, Australia, 25.19
- Harry Shalamon, Jersey, 25.52
- Conor Ferguson, Northern Ireland / Jian Han Tern, Malaysia, 25.60
- –
- Xavier Castelli, Wales, 25.74
- Craig McNally, Scotland, 26.00
Just like in the heats, the Australian men qualified 1-2-3 in the 50 back and will have a great chance to sweep the podium tomorrow night. Mitch Larkin cracked the 25-second barrier to win the first semi in 24.91, with Northern Ireland’s Conor Ferguson 2nd in 25.60.
Defending champ Ben Treffers followed up by also getting under 25 in the second semi, clocking 24.99 for the #2 seed. Zac Incerti was next at 25.19, and Harry Shalamon of Jersey was 3rd in 25.52. Ferguson ended up tying with Malaysia’s Jian Han Tern for 5th, while Xavier Castelli and Craig McNally also made it through in 7th and 8th.
WOMEN’S 50 FLY SEMI-FINALS
- CG Record: 25.20, Francesca Halsall (ENG), 2014
- Madeline Groves, Australia, 25.54
- Cate Campbell, Australia, 25.56
- Holly Barratt, Australia, 25.88
- Penny Oleksiak, Canada, 25.94
- Rebecca Smith, Canada, 26.68
- Alys Thomas, Wales, 26.72
- Alia Atkinson, Jamaica, 26.84
- Erin Gallagher, South Africa, 26.85
Cate Campbell finished off an impressive double after winning the 50 free, topping the first 50 fly semi in a time of 25.56. That is less than a tenth off her own Oceanic record of 25.47. Holly Barratt was also under 26 in 25.88 in that semi, and Alia Atkinson (26.84) and Erin Gallagher (26.85) were 3rd and 4th.
The second semi was even quicker, with Madeline Groves slipping under Campbell’s mark in 25.54. Penny Oleksiak dropped one one-hundredth from her prelim swim for 2nd in 25.94, and her teammate Rebecca Smith was 3rd.
The Australians qualify 1-2-3, and both Atkinson and Gallagher got through in 7th and 8th. Alys Thomas of Wales was 4th in that second semi and advanced in 6th, as it took sub-27 to make the final.
MEN’S 100 FREE SEMI-FINALS
- CG Record: 47.98, Brent Hayden (CAN), 2010
- Cameron McEvoy, Australia, 48.50
- Chad Le Clos, South Africa, 48.61
- Kyle Chalmers, Australia, 48.70
- Duncan Scott, Scotland, 48.72
- Jack Cartwright, Australia, 48.73
- Yuri Kisil, Canada, 48.79
- Dylan Carter, Trinidad, 49.06
- Daniel Hunter, New Zealand, 49.11
After a bit of a rocky start to the meet, Cameron McEvoy had a strong performance in the first semi of the men’s 100 free, touching 1st in a time of 48.50. That swim gives him the top seed heading to the final, while Duncan Scott and Jack Cartwright, who were 2nd and 3rd in the heat, advance in 4th and 5th.
The second semi was a bit faster as a whole, with five of the eight finalists coming from it. Chad Le Clos was out fast in 23.15, and held off Kyle Chalmers coming home to win the semi in 48.61. He heads into the final in 2nd, with Chalmers (48.70) sitting 3rd. Yuri Kisil, Dylan Carter and Daniel Hunter (49.11) also advanced from the semi, with Markus Thormeyer (49.22) on the outside looking in in 9th.
With McEvoy looking back on form, Australia has a shot to go 1-2-3, like they did four years ago. However, it will be really tough with such a deep, close field.
WOMEN’S 200 BREAST FINAL
- CG Record: 2:20.72, Leisel Jones (AUS), 2006
- Tatjana Schoenmaker, South Africa, 2:22.02
- Molly Renshaw, England, 2:23.28
- Chloe Tutton, Wales, 2:23.42
South African Tatjana Schoenmaker continued her impressive showing at the meet, winning gold in the women’s 200 breast in 2:22.02. She took over the lead on the back half, and pulled away to win by 1.26 seconds over England’s Molly Renshaw and Chloe Tutton of Wales. Schoenmaker’s swim knocks over a full second off the African Record.
Renshaw edged out Tutton by just over a tenth, 2:23.28 to 2:23.42 for silver, while Canada’s Kierra Smith was just shy in 4th in 2:23.62. Defending champ Taylor McKeown of Australia settled for 5th in 2:25.51, and her teammate Tessa Wallace was 6th in 2:26.59.
MEN’S SB8 100 BREAST FINAL
- Timothy Disken, Australia, 1:12.42
- Timothy Hodge, Australia, 1:15.80
- Blake Cochrane, Australia, 1:18.75
The Australians pulled off the 1-2-3 finish in the men’s SB8 100 breast, led by Timothy Disken in 1:12.42. Timothy Hodge was 2nd in 1:15.80, and Blake Cochrane 3rd in 1:18.75.
WOMEN’S SM10 200 IM FINAL
- Sophie Pascoe, New Zealand, 2:27.72
- Aurelie Rivard, Canada, 2:31.79
- Katherine Downie, Australia, 2:31.81
New Zealand’s Sophie Pascoe was dominant in winning the women’s SM10 200 IM, clocking 2:27.72. The world record holder wins New Zealand’s first gold of the competition.
Canadian Aurelie Rivard held off Katherine Downie of Australia for silver, 2:31.79 to 2:31.81. Paige Leonhardt and Jasmine Greenwood made it a 3-4-5 finish for the Aussies.
WOMEN’S 4X200M FREE RELAY FINAL
CG Record: 7:49.90, Australia, 2014
- Australia, 7:48.04
- Canada, 7:49.66
- England, 7:55.60
The Australians kept their relay streak alive, as the women topped the Canadians in the 4×200 with a new Games Record of 7:48.04. Emma McKeon got them the early lead in 1:56.62, and then Brianna Throssell (1:57.60), Leah Neale (1:58.23) and Ariarne Titmus (1:55.59) never relinquished it.
Titmus had to hold off Taylor Ruck, swimming her third race of the night, who anchored for Canada. Going in down by two seconds, Ruck went for it to bridge the gap, opening with 50 and 100 splits of 25.75 and 54.68. She tired at the end, but still had the fastest split in the field at 1:55.14. Joining her for Canada was Penny Oleksiak (1:58.03), Kayla Sanchez (1:59.30) and Rebecca Smith (1:57.19), as they were 1.6 seconds back in 7:49.66.
England won bronze in 7:55.60, with Eleanor Faulkner (1:58.75 lead-off) and Siobhan-Marie O’Connor (1:57.07) producing their fastest splits. Scotland had a 1:58.17 split from Camilla Hattersley as they took 4th in 8:01.56, and Wales was 5th in 8:03.00.
I wish le clos swam breaststroke. Would love to see him looking around talking to everyone during the race
For peaty I think kits as simple as trying some newer stuff in practice so see what does and doesn’t work. He mentioned being 58.7 under training a month ago and said CGs was a target. So he was tapered.
Or perhaps it’s the pressure. The talk of project 56 might be getting to him. Also, the talk of going until LA2028 at all should be tempered, not to mention him saying he wants to go to that meet undefeated. There are 10-12 year olds right now that nobody has heard of growing up in this crazy era that will be their in 2028 ready to set their own definition of redefining the sport.
CWG was an innovator in bringing in the Para events into the main event not shunting them off . Each time Ive passed a tv there has been para events on & we’re talking prime time 7pm .
Ruck is at five medals, with three events still to go. The medley relay is probably Canada’s best shot at getting a gold relay medal, since they can use Masse for that. Breaststroke is their comparative weak point in the lineup, though. Australia will be favoured, of course.
Yup, they’ve got Masse on backstroke, either Oleksiak or Smith on butterfly, several options for breaststroke (they’ll probably decide after the 100m breaststroke concludes) and of course Ruck on freestyle. The way Masse and Ruck have been swimming (plus how Oleksiak does seem to be swimming faster since her 3-race night on day 1), that should be a strong team.
Yes, but then there’s that 51 flat train a-comin!
Oh there’s no reason to think at this point that Canada has the advantage. But it’s still their best shot at a relay gold this week. The Canadian men certainly won’t win a relay gold.
After Seebohms 100m, Masse may not be an advantage…
So every day you keep saying the same thing over and over? Stop it.
He indeed should let it go once and for all . If he doesn’t live in Australia , he absolutely can’t understand the
Aussies choices .
The answer to your question is in Bogo’s comment below
BTW, what do people think about Ruck’s move to Stanford in the fall? She has only been with Titley a short while and obviously thriving. She is a gem of course and should be handled carefully. Meehan is an excellent coach but I am a bit cautious about all the moves in training in quick succession. I suppose she should have Meehan and Titley collaborate in training her a la Marsh and McKeever with Kathleen Baker?
I am still shocked that Penny left Titley!! She hasn’t done much since she left. I would love to know the real reasons she left!
There was an interview with a local Toronto paper (I think Metro), where Oleksiak talked about how the main reason was that the Toronto Swim Club is much closer to where she lives, and so is the high school she switched to at the same time. Last year, she’d often need to stay up well past midnight to finish her homework, just to wake up at 5 am. The move made her time a lot more manageable. And beyond that, sometimes you just need to return to your roots.
I also thought that her results have somewhat suffered since leaving Titley and the HPC environment. I wonder if she’ll consider moving back to Titley to ratchet it up for 2020; simply put, for her to reach her full potential she has to be with Titley at the HPC. It’s surprising that she’ll most likely leave these Games without an individual medal.
Not a bad training group is it?
Seriously though, I agree it’s a lot of change and maybe she needs to sit down and have a long think about turning pro now.
Ledecky and Missy were already superstars when they went to college, they could enjoy the luxury of two years NCAA for the experience and know sponsors would still be there when they turned pro. If Ruck’s training was thrown off by the move to the Farm and she under performed in Tokyo, she might struggle for profile (outside swimming) to get the sponsors to justify turning pro, and potentially move coaches yet again, straight after 2020.
Then again, that Stanford degree’s for life and, academically… Read more »
Was disappointed in 100 back— thought Masse would push the 58 barrier. Will wait and see how things shake out at Pan Pacs.
We’re not seeing too many personal bests from Canada in general. Just Taylor Ruck so far. There’s a strong chance that most of the Canadians are looking at the Pan Pacifics as their main event of the year.
Wasn’t Masse already 58.5 at an in season meet months ago?
And Penny was faster in multiple events back in February than she’s been so far at the Commonwealth Games, and that was swimming 5 individual events in two days.
Possibly another factor to consider re. Masse’s swim (in addition to competing in an outdoor pool — she trains indoors) is that, just like many other college/university students, she is in the middle of final exams and probably had to write her finals early or have them deferred (likely a bit stressful for her and other swimmers in similar situations).