Article courtesy of Swim Aus.
Australia have wrapped up their Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign after another strong night in the pool at Sandwell Aquatic Centre.
Commonwealth Games debutants Brendon Smith (1:59.57) and Se-Bom Lee (1:59.86) opened the night for Australia, Smith finishing fifth and Lee sixth in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley. The race was won by Scotland’s Duncan Scott.
Madeleine McTernan (2:13.89), Ruby Storm (2:15.75) and Jade Lucy (2:16.64) closed out their Birmingham 2022 competition in the Women’s 200m Freestyle S14, touching the wall in fifth, sixth and seventh position.
In the Men’s 200m Freestyle S14, Benjamin Hance (1:55.50) and Jack Ireland (1:56.15) won the first medals of the night for the Dolphins, with silver and bronze. Two-time Paralympian Liam Schluter (1:59.17) finished in eighth.
The Men’s 50m Freestyle final saw two Australian Commonwealth Games debutants line up, with Tom Nowakowski (22.37) and Grayson Bell (22.53) touching with the sixth and eighth fastest times.
Tokyo Olympian Mollie O’Callaghan (27.47) added another medal to her Birmingham haul, winning silver in the Women’s 50m Backstroke final. She was joined on the podium by Kaylee McKeown (27.58) who won bronze, with teammate Bronte Job (27.85) finishing sixth.
In his first Commonwealth Games appearance, 18-year-old Sam Short (14:48.54) powered home to win gold in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle. Fellow debutant Kieren Pollard (15:18.02) narrowly missed the podium in fifth.
“I got a sub 14:50 (minutes) which is what I’ve been training for for a while, I’m happy to have finally put the race together properly,” Short said.
“I would’ve preferred a good time over the gold, but to get both is just amazing.
“The more you do the 1500m, the better you get at it – it’s all about tactics and a good race plan and I’m getting better at that with age,” he said.
Ariarne Titmus (3:58.06) led the Women’s 400m Freestyle final from start to finish to win her fourth Birmingham 2022 gold medal. Commonwealth Games debutant Kiah Melverton (4:03.12) delivered a strong performance to win bronze, with fellow Aussie Lani Pallister (4:04.43) in fifth.
“This meet, for me, was more about coming here and having fun – that’s what the Commonwealth Games is all about,” Titmus said.
“I came here with the goal to win all four and I believed that I had the capacity to do that, and I’m happy I did that.
“I definitely got pushed more than I did on the Gold Coast (2018 Commonwealth Games) but that’s great it means the sport’s moving, keeps me motivated and keeps me on my toes,” she said.
Bradley Woodward, Zac Stubblety-Cook, Matthew Temple and Kyle Chalmers (3:31.88) teamed up to win silver in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay. Chalmers and Englishman Tom Dean were neck and neck on the final stretch, the Aussies just pipped at the post by the host nation.
Australia successfully defended their title in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay, with Kaylee McKeown, Chelsea Hodges, Emma McKeon and Mollie O’Callaghan (3:54.44) claiming the final swimming gold medal on offer at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The final medal tally for the Australians includes 65 medals: 25 gold, 21 silver and 19 bronze.
