Australia is enjoying a superb start to the Commonwealth Games, highlighted by sweeping all three medals in two swimming events on the first night in the pool.
The Aussies won five out of seven gold medals on offer in the opening night of swimming action, plus three gold medals on the cycling track.
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Ariarne Titmus won gold in the women’s 200m freestyle with a time of 1:53.089, also setting a Commonwealth Games record. 18-year-old Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan (1:54.01) claimed silver in an unbelievable late charge, ahead of Madison Wilson (1:56.17) in bronze. All three won their respective heats.
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That came afterElijah Winnington won gold in the men’s 400m freestyle with a time of 3:43.06 in the final, ahead of fellow Aussies Sam Short (3:45.07) in silver and Mack Horton (3:46.49) for the bronze.
Horton had enjoyed the second-fastest time of the heats – quicker than his fellow Aussies – but could not convert that into gold.
Also in the pool, Zac Stubblety-Cook won gold in the men’s 200m breastroke in 2:08.07s, adding to his gold medals in both the Olympics and World Championships.
Kiah Melverton won her second ever Commonwealth Games medal with a superb silver in the women’s 400m Individual Medley, coming home in 4:36.78s, but was soundly beaten by Canada’s unbelievable teen sensation Summer McIntosh with a Commonwealth Record 4:29.01s. McIntosh is just 15 years old.
In the final race of the night, Australia won gold in the mixed 4x100m relay, with William Yang, Kyle Chalmers, Mollie O’Callaghan and Emma McKeon coming home in 3:21.18s, just ahead of England in 3:22.45s. Australia had used an entirely different team in the heats, showing the incredible depth of the team.
There was disappointment for Kyle Chalmers, Matt Temple, and Cody Simpson – with none of the three making the finals of the men’s 50m butterfly. All three reached the semi-finals but were unable to reach the final.
Simpson’s girlfriend Emma McKeon also enjoyed a sizzling performance in the women’s 100m butterfly heat and clocked in with a time of 57:34, the fastest of anyone in the heats.
In the para-swimming events, Tim Hodge won his first Commonwealth Games gold with a Games record 1:01.88. in the men’s S9 100m backstroke, ahead of Harrison Vig in fourth and Brenden Hall in 5th.
Emily Beecroft won silver in the Women’s 100m Freestyle S9, while Australia’s most decorated female Paralympian Ellie Cole came fifth in her final Games.
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CYCLING SENSATIONS
Australia’s Jessica Gallagher and pilot Caitlin Ward won gold medals in the Women’s Tandem B Sprint track cycling, Australia’s first gold of the Games, winning both races in the final over Scotland.
Gallagher is an all-time great of Australian sport, becoming the first ever Australian to win a medal at the winter and summer Paralympics, in skiing and cycling respectively.
She has also competed at the Paralympics in athletics and attempting to compete in rowing.
They were followed by Georgia Baker, Sophie Edwards, Chloe Moran and Maeve Plouffe, who won the Women’s 4000m Team Pursuit, having earlier set a Commonwealth Games record of 4:14:605 in the heats.
Then Leigh Hoffman, Matthew Richardson and Matthew Glaetzer won gold in the men’s team sprint final ahead of England in a Commonwealth Games record.
The night comes to a close with another shot at a medal, this time it is Sophie Linn, Charlotte McShane and Natalie von Coevorden in the Women’s Sprint Distance Final.
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST MEDAL!
Matthew Hauser won Australia’s first medal of the Games with bronze in the triathlon sprint distance final.
Hauser nailed the Sutton Park course in 50:50, behind England’s Alex Yee (50:34) and New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde (50:47).
Two more Aussies in Jacob Birtwhistle and Brandon Copeland finished fourth and 22nd.
AUSSIES REBOUND FROM TOUGH T20 START
Despite losing four wickets in the first five overs, Australia somehow turned it around to beat India by three wickets with Ash Gardner producing a superb knock of 51 from 34 deliveries.
Alyssa Healy departed for a duck on the second ball of the innings and was quickly followed by skipper Meg Lanning (8), Beth Mooney (10) and Tahlia McGrath (14).
Whle the flow of wickets began to slow, they were still being lost at a worrying rate.
However, Gardner and Alana King steadied the ship and ensured Australia got their T20 campaign off to a winning start.
OTHER RESULTS
The Australian Diamonds have thrashed Barbados in their opening match of the Games, dominating the underdogs 95-18 to get their gold medal chase off to the best possible start.
Boxing star Billy Polkinghorn got off to a flyer as the referee stepped in to end his contest after just 30 seconds of action when a looping overhand right caught his opponent clean and turned his legs into jelly.
The Australian men’s Rugby Sevens decimated Jamaica 62-0, with Wallabies star Samu Kerevi bagging a first-half hat-trick.
The men’s stunning show came hot on the heels of the women’s Rugby Sevens, as they defeated South Africa 38-0 with Charlotte Caslick and Maddison Levi both bagging two-try hauls each.
It was also a blistering start for the women’s table tennis team, as six-time Games competitor Jian Fang Lay led a 3-0 win over Malaysia after winning her singles in straight sets and the doubles.
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