Commonwealth Games: Australia Fends Off England to Capture Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay
Heading into the final of the men’s 400-meter freestyle relay at the Commonwealth Games, Australia had mined gold on 10 of the 13 occasions in which the event was conducted. But with England fielding a strong squad, there was reason to believe this might be one of those rare years in which the title proved elusive.
Nope.
Fueled by the third and fourth legs of William Yang and Kyle Chalmers, Australia recorded a time of 3:11.12 to win by more than a second over its English challenger. England has never won the event at the Commonwealth Games, and will have to wait an additional four years to end that drought. England finished in 3:11.73, with the bronze medal going to Canada in 3:13.01.
The Aussies were boosted off the start by teenager Flynn Southam, who delivered an opening split of 48.54. From that point forward, Australia didn’t leave the 47s. The second leg was handled by Zac Incerti in 47.96, but the Dolphins still sat in third place behind England and Canada. England vaulted into that lead position behind Lewis Burras (48.39) and Jacob Whittle (47.94).
By the end of the third leg, however, Australia was in control. Thanks to Yang splitting 47.60, opposed to the 48.70 of James Guy, Chalmers went into his anchor duties with a comfortable lead. The 2016 Olympic champion in the 100 freestyle, Chalmers did what was necessary, a 47.02 split closing out the race. Tom Dean, who earlier in the session was the silver medalist in the 200 freestyle, came up with a 46.70 split on his anchor leg, but it wasn’t enough.
For Yang and Chalmers, they medaled in the event for the second time this summer in international competition. At the World Championships, Yang handled the leadoff leg and Chalmers was the anchor in Australia’s silver-medal effort.
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