COMMUNITY GAMES 2022
- Friday, July 29 – Wednesday, August 3, 2022
- Birmingham, England
- Sandwell Aquatic Centre
- Start times
- Prelims: 10:30 a.m. local / 5:30 a.m. ET
- Finals: 7:00 pm local / 2:00 pm ET
- LCM (50m)
- Know the Central
- Event programming
- List of entries
- Tickets (in order of seed) – h/ta Troyy
- Live results
The second session of the 2022 Commonwealth Games finals is packed with plenty of action. Some of the most anticipated events include the women’s 50 breast, where South African sprint star Lara van Niekerk should be in a field of her own. The only woman to have been under 30 seconds in this field, van Niekerk has an excellent chance of also taking the Commonwealth record in the event.
The women’s 100-volt final will also be a thriller, simply because it features Emma McKeon and Maggie MacNeil. This could turn out to be a race for the ages as these two are arguably the top 2 100 flyers in the world right now.
The men’s 200lb should also be fun as 400lb champion Elijah Winnington will face a tough duo of Tom Dean and Duncan Scott.
Men’s 50 fly final
- Commonwealth record: 22.73, Matt Targett (AUS), 2009 World Championships
- Commonwealth Games record: 22.93, Ben Proud (CAT), 2014
- 2018 Commonwealth Champion: Chad Le Clos (RSA), 23.37
Podium:
Ben Proud left no doubt as he cruised to victory in tonight’s 50 fly final, breaking his own 8-year-old Commonwealth Games record of 22.93. The gold is Proud’s fourth career CG individual gold and his second CG title in the 50 fly. In addition, it was a significantly faster swim than the pride produced in the World Championship final, where he took 7th place in 23.08. The swim was off the 22.76 Proud swam in the semifinals of the Worlds, which was the No. 1 qualifying time for the final.
Similarly, Singapore’s Tzen Wei Teong was faster than he swam in the 50 back at the World Championships where he clocked 23.29 for 8th place in the final. Tonight, he was 23.21, edging out New Zealand’s Cameron Gray for silver.
On the other hand, after a phenomenal performance at the World Championships, Dylan Carter of Trinidad and Tobago took fourth place tonight, finishing just off the medalist in 23.28. That swim came well after the 22.85 that Carter swam for 4th at the Worlds last month, a time that is considered her personal best.
End of 50 female breasts
Podium:
South Africa’s Lara van Niekerk took the win tonight, as the only woman under 30 seconds. The performance was the second best of her career for van Niekerk, coming within just 0.01 seconds of her Commonwealth record personal best of 29.72. The swim, however, again broke the Commonwealth Games record Niekerk set this morning.
Van Niekerk won bronze at the World Championships in 29.90. Her performance tonight would have been good for Silver, just 0.03 behind swimming gold medalist Ruta Meilutyte’s 29.70.
Behind van Niekerk, the field was also incredible. England’s Imogen Louise Clark clocked 30.02 to clear her own British record of 30.04, which has stood since 2018. Similarly, Australia’s Chelsea Hodges took third tonight in 30.05, knocking 0.10 off seconds from the Australian record he set in April. Neither Clark nor Hodges ran the 50 breast at the World Champs last month, but their times tonight would have been good for fourth and fifth respectively if they had.
Women’s 50 freestyle semifinals
- CG record: 23.78, Cate Campbell (AUS), 2018
The top 8 classified:
- Shayna Jack (AUS) – 24.33
- Meg Harris (AUS) – 24.41
- Emma McKeon (AUS) – 24.51
- Anna Hopkins (CAT) – 24.66
- Emma Chelius (RSA) – 24.94
- Danielle Hill (NIR) – 25.15
- Erin Gallagher (RSA) – 25.31
- Bella Hindley (CAT) – 25.36
The Australian trio dominated in the semifinals of the women’s 50 freestyle. Shayna Jack led the way, clocking in at 24.33, while Meg Harris (24.41) and Emma McKeon (24.51) were right behind. It looks like only England’s Anna Hopkin has a chance of breaking the Australian avoiding a sweep of the podium.
Hopkin was right in the 24.60 he swam in the semifinals at the World Championships, clocking 24.66 this evening. She was slower at the Worlds finals, something she will want to reverse this time if she wants to win a medal. Meg Harris was also right in the 24.38 she swam at the World Champs to win bronze. Jack’s swim tonight would have been good for Bronze at Worlds had she been healthy enough to compete there.
Men’s 200-pound final
- CG record: 1:44.71, Ian Thorpe (AUS), 2002
Podium:
It was a thrilling race but Scotland’s Duncan Scott had the top half of his back tonight, pulling away from Tom Dean and Elijah Winnington with enough to secure his second individual gold of the Commonwealth Games of his career. Scott was outstanding late in the race, splitting 26.91 and 26.57 in the 2 50 finals, for a 53.48 in the 100 final.
Scott’s time tonight was just shy of the 1:44.98 he needed to medal at the World Championships last month, a time that coincidentally swam Tom Dean for bronze. Dean was a little off that mark tonight, turning in a still solid 1:45.41. Elijah Winnington was right in his performances at the World Champs, bettering the 1:45.82 he swam in the finals in Budapest, but well short of the 1:45.53 he swam in the semifinals there.
Men’s 50lbs S13 final
Podium:
In a photo-finish, Canada’s Nicolas Guy Turbide edged out Scotland’s Stephen Clegg by 0.01 seconds, the smallest margin in our sport. Guy has been swimming exceptionally well this year, following a gold medal performance at the World Championships where he won the S13 100 backstroke. He also won silver at last summer’s Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
Clegg is coming off a two-medal performance at the World Champs, where he won gold in the S13 100 fly and silver in the S13 100 free. For bronze medalist Jacob Templeton, this is his first major international medal.
Women’s 50 Free S13 Final
Podium:
The women’s S13 50 free was a much tighter race than the men’s as Australia’s Katja Dedekind pulled away from the competition in 26.56. His performance was not only good for a dominant win, but also broke the S13 world record. The previous record was held at 26.67 by Carlotta Gilli.
Dedekind is coming off a great performance at the World Championships, winning 3 medals.
England’s Hannah Russell, a swimmer in the S12 category, took silver with 27.67. Russell is a highly decorated para swimmer who has accumulated 7 Paralympic medals, 11 World Championship medals and 9 European Championship medals throughout her career.
Men’s 100 breaststroke semi-finals
The top 8 classified:
- Adam Peaty (CAT) – 59.02
- Zac Stubblety-Cook (AUS) – 59.80
- James Wilby (CAT) – 59.85
- Sam Williamson (AUS) – 59.98
- Joshua Yong (AUS) – 59.99
- Ross Murdoch (SCO) – 1:00.36
- Craig Benson (SCO) – 1:00.61
- Brendan Crawford (RSA) – 1:00.64
Adam Peaty was doing Adam Peaty things again this evening, beating the field by over half a second. It was all a given early on, as Peaty posted a 27.15 in the first 50, which outpaced the rest of the field. 200 breast world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook had a good swim this morning, posting a 59.80 thanks to a strong 31.40 in the second 50.
Australia look to be building their men’s breaststroke pool as 3 swimmers advanced to the final, 3 of which were under 1:00 tonight. Sam Williamson and Joshua Yong will be in tomorrow’s final alongside ZSC. This is a major breakthrough for Australia as they need a men’s 100 breaststroke that can compete on the world stage in order to bring their men’s medley relays up to par with Great Britain, Italy and the USA.
Women’s 100 Back: Semifinals
The top 8 classified:
- Kylie Masse (CAN) -58.83
- Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 59.08
- Average Harris (WAL) – 59.64
- Lauren Cox (CAT) – 1:00.36
- Minna Atherton (AUS) – 1:00.50
- Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN) – 1:00.59
- Katie Shanahan (SCO) – 1:01.66
- Rebecca Meder (RSA) – 1:01.71
One of the most anticipated racing events of the meet saw Kylie Masse edge Kaylee McKeown in the semifinals. Neither superstar back was on top of their game tonight as both have been well under 58 seconds earlier, however, we can hope they save their best run for the final.
Medi Harris had a very solid swim tonight, setting herself up well for a medal tomorrow. With Aussie rising star Mollie O’Callaghan out of the mix, the field is wide open behind Masse and McKeown.
Men’s 400 MI Final
- CG record: 4:11.04, Daniel Wallace (SCO), 2014
- 2018 Commonwealth Champion: Clyde Lewis (AUS) – 4:13.12
Podium:
- GOLD: Lewis Clareburt (NZL), 4:08.70
- SILVER: Brendon Smith (AUS), 4:10.15
- BRONZE: Duncan Scott (SCO), 4:11.27
Lewis Clareburt shaved almost two seconds off his personal best from last summer’s Olympics, smashing Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth records en route to victory. The 23-year-old Kiwi opened up a lead after splitting the back before stretching it with an insurmountable advantage in the breaststroke leg.
Brendon Smith was also under the previous Commonwealth Games record of 4:10.15, and Duncan Scott capped his tough 200 freestyle/400 IM double with a bronze medal in 4:11.27 less than an hour after win the 200 pounds. Matt Sates finished fourth, about five seconds off his Mare Nostrum Tour personal best earlier this year.
Women’s 100 fly final
Podium:
The long-awaited duel between Olympic champion Maggie MacNeil and runner-up Emma McKeon did not disappoint.
For the second race in a row, we saw another Commonwealth Games record fall courtesy of MacNeil, and it took everything he could to pip McKeon for gold by just 0.02 seconds. MacNeil’s 56.36 is his fastest this season and No. 4 in the world this year. McKeon was also short of her previous meet record of 56.78 set in 2018. Both times would have won bronze at the Worlds last month. A twenty-six-year-old Australian…