Fran, Fox, Funk, and a Bronze Medal That Mattered at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

The 2014 Commonwealth Games are the best version of this meet that we’ve seen in at least two decades, since Kieren Perkins’ 1994 four gold performance.

In fact, this year’s meet might even be better than that, in terms of the swims, the records, and the broader context of the results we’re seeing. In 1994, there were a lot of unimpressive results to go along with Perkins; Mark Foster was just a 23.1 to win the 50 free, for example.

Guy and Horton Conquer the Next Rung of the Ladder

In the men’s 400 free, Ryan Cochrane and David McKeon take most of the press as the gold and silver medalists. Especially Cochrane, who hasn’t gone a best time in this event since the 2008 Olympics, and who with a 3:43.46 beat his previous best time by almost a second-and-a-half.

But the future lied in the minor medal, and specifically with British teen James Guy battling with Australian teen Mack Horton.

Those two squared off in this same race at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where the Australian Horton was able to punch the gas in the last 150 meters to pull away from the more speed-based Guy.

This year, as they fought for bronze, Guy went into the last 100 meters with a 1.4 second lead. Horton once again was much, much faster in the final stretch of this race, but Guy’s lead was much too big at that point.

Both swimmers were a far cry better than they were at Junior Worlds last year; Guy was a 3:44.58 and Horton was a 3:44.91 for 4th. They were 3:47/3:48 in 2013. With this battle, the two have taken another step up the ladder. For both swimmers, this was their first really pressure meet at the senior level (Guy swam at Worlds, but without much expectations).

Next year, the two will hope to meet again at the World Championships, and are on a collision course for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

It’s a nice little rivalry that is developing between the two Commonwealth swimmers, both of whom are still 18. There’s some vulnerability in the 400 free globally. China’s Sun Yang is heads-and-tails ahead of the rest of the country, and aside from him, Cochrane’s race here is about as good as they can expect to see in Kazan next year, barring surprises.

That means that the opportunity is here for the two to continue their rise in the next two years. Maybe they’re just the right youth and talent to go after Sun Yang. At any rate, they’re finally bringing some excitement to an event that has been very one-sided for several years.

Australia Continues to Dominate in Para-Sport

In the 3rd para-sport event in as many days, Daniel Fox won the men’s S14 200 freestyle in 1:57.89. This is an event in which he’s the World Record holder, and while he couldn’t match the records of his teammates Maddison Wilson and Rowan Crothers from the first two days of the meet, he put in a no-doubt, run-away victory that gave Australia three golds in three para-sport races so far.

Fox didn’t quite have the front-half speed to break his own World Record, and he’s not likely to get much better competition in the S14 class at the Para Pan Pacs in two weeks. He’s the world’s top swimmer in his events right now, and nobody is even close to challenging that throne.

Halsall Pulls Well-Earned Upset Over Aussie Campbell

Great Britain’s Fran Halsall pulled off a minor upset over the defending World Champion in the women’s 50 free, with a 23.96 to beat Cate Campbell’s 24.00. Campbell has been locked-in for the last 6 months, and seemed like a safe bet to win the 50 free here in Glasgow, but Halsall became the first British woman under 24 seconds to take away the title.

While Australia is still clearly dominating the medal tallies through three days of competition, the nations of the British isles are fighting strong. That swim was Campbell’s best of the season and faster than she was to win silver at Worlds last year, and Halsall still beat her.

There has been further buzz about the David-versus-Goliath battle here because Campbell has a 6-inch height advantage on Halsall. While Halsall is by no means short for ordinary standards, by the measure of an elite female sprinter, 5’7″ is not huge. By our count, she’s the second-shortest woman ever under 24 seconds in this race (Libby Trickett was only 5’6″).

Halsall was one of two British Record breakers on Saturday; Adam Peaty also hit his mark with a 58.94, upsetting the Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh.

Can Richard Funk?

This isn’t really super competition related, but this picture of Canadian/University of Michigan breaststroker Richard Funk has been circling the web and is officially the biggest social media hit of the Commonwealth Games so far. It was on the front pages of Reddit, Imgur, and many other such corners of the web.

Led by a fantastic job from the Scottish Swimming crew, the social media response to the Commonwealth Games has been fantastic thus far, and swimming is leading the way. When Rio rolls around in 2016, the onrush of attention to the sport could be unparalleled, especially if the Brazilians swim well.