Clancy said it feels great to be taking the steps towards where they want to be, the gold medal match. “I’m feeling good about the quarters, we’re going to enjoy this moment that’s for sure,” Clancy said. “We’re going to take some time to recover tonight and be ready to go again tomorrow,” she said. Artacho del Solar admitted while it is exciting to have progressed, it’s still about taking it one game at a time.
THE big-name slayer in the pool Mollie O’Callaghan collected yet another Olympic star’s scalp in her final individual swim at the Commonwealth Games. This time O’Callaghan muscled in on Australia’s double Olympic champion backstroke guru Kaylee McKeown, who had been in form, having won the Games 100m-200m double here. O’Callaghan, the 18-year-old Queenslander, stormed home in the 50m backstroke final, finishing just 11 hundredths of a second behind Commonwealth record-holder Kylie Masse, of Canada, but out-touching the more fancied McKeown by 11 hundredths of a second. But for Australian team relay success, O’Callaghan’s versatility will give selectors options to experiment.
Dominant Titmus caps triumphant week in pool She’s no stranger to success , but Ariarne Titmus has now achieved something no other female swimhas in more than half a century. But the final gold was the one that clearly meant the most. “The 400m is my baby,” Titmus , also the Olympic champion and world-record holder at the distance , said. She beat Canada’s flying 15-year-old Summer McIntosh, who is looming as a major threat at the 2024 Paris Olympics , with fellow Australian Kiah Melverton securing bronze. “I’m excited to get the job done personally but also for the country,” said Titmus, who skipped June’s World Championships in Budapest to target the Commonwealth Games after overcoming COVID. “I think that, back home, Australia really prides itself on success in the pool at the Comm Games.
“Amazing, it feels very good,” Short said. “It’s what I’ve been training for, for a long time and then I finally put the race together properly and ticked the box. “I would have preferred a good time over the gold but to get both is amazing. “When I was younger, I had a tendency to gas myself early and now I try to build the race and be smarter. “I mean, it’s tricky. I think the trick is count once and get it right. My race plan was like building the hundreds. Mentally I was focused. I had someone with me the whole time so I didn’t have room to switch off and I just focused.”
It’s a couple of hours after the Commonwealth Games swimming meet. The Australian team converges on a back pavilion to hoot and holler and hand out a few gongs in an in-house presentation ceremony. The late-night silence is broken by the old refrain of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi oi. It sounds less grating when athletes do it. Of the 52 finals at Birmingham’s Sandwell Aquatics Centre, Australia won 25, grabbing 20 silver and 20 bronze for good measure. On closing night Mollie O’Callaghan finished her evolution from rising star to shooting star by grabbing her fifth gold in the medley relay. “Pretty epic,” the 18-year-old said. “We all crushed it this week.”
AUSTRALIA’S champion swimmers have turned the Birmingham Aquatic Centre into their own golden pond. Just when you thought the Dolphins couldn’t do any better than their five-gold medal haul from Tuesday morning – they went one better and picked up six more on Wednesday morning – capped by a stunning win in the mixed medley relay. Ian Thorpe, commentating for Channel 7, was gushing with praise for McKeon’s latest achievement, saying she was a bona fide legend. “So many events, so many great performances, so many great memories for Emma McKeon and for all of us,” he said.
The debate over who is Australia’s greatest ever swimmer can stop because it’s not even a contest. As great as Dawn Fraser, Ian Thorpe, Shane Gould, Murray Rose and Kieren Perkins all were, Emma McKeon’s achievements have left them all in her wash. Her own harshest critic, she hates losing but in the rare times she doesn’t dwell on it because she turns her focus to her next race then the next race after that. “She’s in a really good space and she’s willing to challenge herself. As great as she already is, she’s still got a lot more in the tank and we don’t think we’ve seen the best of her yet.”
The finishing line at the 2022 Commonwealth Games is rapidly approaching, and so is a 1000th gold medal for Australia. No Commonwealth nation has won 1000 gold medals since the whole shebang started at the British Empire Games way back in 1930.
Schoolgirl sees off idol McKeon to seal epic victory The giant-killing moment that brought down Emma McKeon could well be the making of Mollie O’Callaghan . McKeon is now the most decorated athlete in Commonwealth Games history, but O’Callaghan showed little respect for reputation. The 18-year-old Queenslander’s stunning win over her idol in the prized 100m freestyle was a clear shot fired in a potential changing of the guard.
The Aussies have added 17 medals to their tally, with four gold, six silver and seven bronze on Day 6 in Birmingham. Our swimmers capped off their dominance in the pool with nine more medals, three each of gold, silver and bronze.
Chris McHugh and Paul Burnett have topped their pool at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, after a hard fought win over Rwanda 2-0 (21-16, 21-18). The Aussie duo will head into the quarterfinals as one of the top ranked teams, and their eyes firmly set on a podium finish. Commonwealth Games debutant Burnett said he was pleased to be able to deliver another win. “They played really well, they didn’t give up and they didn’t give it easy to us,” Burnett said “When our backs are against the wall, we don’t really have a choice but to push hard. It’s good to see that we were able to respond to that pressure today too,” McHugh said.
In what was a history-making night in Birmingham, the Australian Swimming team picked up a staggering 17 medals, six of which were gold.“It feels amazing – it was so good to execute that race when I needed to, I’m so happy,” Dekkers said. “I’m extremely happy. It’s still sinking in, but I’ve definitely still got a long way to improve. This is just the beginning for me,” O’Callaghan said.
