Commonwealth Games – Day 4 Prelims: Teen Star Summer McIntosh Chasing Medley Sweep; Adam Peaty Bounces Back in 50 Breaststroke
We enter the fourth preliminary session of the Commonwealth Games coming off a cracker of a Night Three, one which saw the Australian women set a world record in the 800-meter freestyle relay. The evening also brought a shocking turn of events, as Adam Peaty, the two-time Olympic champion, was locked out of the medals in the 100 breaststroke. What will take place on the fourth day of competition? Let’s find out.
Here is an event-by-event recap of the Day Four prelims.
Women’s 200 Backstroke
The gold and silver medalists from the 100 backstroke, Australia’s Kaylee McKeown and Canada’s Kylie Masse cruised through the prelims of the 200 back. McKeown, the Olympic champ in the event, was timed in 2:10.95, with Masse checking in at 2:11.27. Aussie Minna Atherton rounded out top three with an outing of 2:11.38. Anything but another gold-silver from McKeown and Masse would be a stunner in the evening final.
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Men’s 50 Breaststroke
Coming off his surprise fourth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke, England’s Adam Peaty showed his fight and tied for the quickest time in the opening round of the 50 breaststroke. Peaty and South Africa’s Michael Houlie posted times of 27.10, with Sam Williamson of Australia going 27.20 for the third positions. If Peaty can capture gold in this event, it would be an impressive bounce-back performance and mark his first title in the event. At the past two Commonwealth Games, Peaty won silver behind South African Cameron van der Burgh.
“Good,” Peaty said of his prelims swim. “I didn’t really bother warming up this morning to be honest. I just came in. I had two hours sleep. Obviously, it was a devastating night for me. Came in, do what I do, treat it like a county’s championship and just go for it I guess.
“The last two years have been very complicated. Just because of various things like going into Olympics, having all that pressure paying off. I haven’t really had a winter block where I’ve reset, got my aerobic training in and gone ‘hold on a minute.’ I haven’t even had a chance to know where I am going. It’s almost like you get in a car without a destination.”
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Women’s 100 Freestyle
With plenty of wiggle room available, the top guns in the event took it easy during the morning. Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan, the reigning world champ, cruised to the top seed in 54.28 and was joined in the sub-55 club by England’s Freya Anderson, who touched in 54.83. Shayna Jack (55.20) and Emma McKeon (55.36) eased through in third and sixth, respectively, as Australia looks to sweep another freestyle podium, as was the case in the 50 free and 200 free.
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Men’s 100 Butterfly
Canadian Joshua Liendo pressed the pedal a bit during prelims, as he easily notched the fastest time of the morning with a mark of 51.36. Jamie Ingram and Jacob Peters of England were next through, thanks to respective times of 52.17 and 52.18. Next came the Aussie duo of Matt Temple (52.28) and Cody Simpson (52.47). Notably, Aussie Kyle Chalmers opted to scratch the event and focus on the evening’s final of the 100 freestyle.
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Women’s 200 Individual Medley
Already the gold medalist in the 400 medley, Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh began her chase for the title in the 200 IM. McIntosh, who did not contest this event at the recent World Championships, moved into the final behind a time of 2:12.12. That effort was comfortably clear of the No. 2 mark of the morning, the 2:12.57 of South Africa’s Rebecca Meder. Mary-Sophie Harvey of Canada, Abbie Wood of England and Kaylee McKeown of Australia also advanced.
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Women’s 100 Breaststroke
The South African tandem of Lara van Niekerk (1:06.40) and Tatjana Schoenmaker (1:07.10) led the way through qualifying. Van Niekerk has already won the 50 breaststroke while Schoenmaker took gold in the 200 breaststroke. They will try to fend off the likes of England’s Molly Renshaw (1:07.54) and the Aussie duo of Chelsea Hodges (1:07.68) and Jenna Strauch (1:07.80).
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Women’s 800 Freestyle
With only 10 entries, there wasn’t the need to exert significant effort. Australians Lani Pallister and Ariarne Titmus led the way in 8:32.67 and 8:36.17. Titmus is the reigning silver medalist from the Olympic Games.
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