Games records in fast pool
On the first night of competition at the Games, the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre has proven to be a fast pool for with four out of the possible five Games records being broken in the finals.
There were five finals in the evening with the Women’s 200m Freestyle first up. Scotland's Caitlin McClatchey out swam Australian Libby Lenton, setting a new Games record of 1:57.25. England’s Melanie Marshall came in third with the field snapping at her heels - the top six competitors all broke the two minute barrier.
The Men’s 400m Freestyle final shortly followed with Scotland’s David Carry winning in a personal best 3:48.17. This was the second gold in the pool for his country. Canadian Andrew Hurd picked up the silver in 3:49.08 with David Davies from Wales coming third.
Australian Stephanie Rice won the host nation’s first gold medal in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley final with a new Games record time of 2:12.90. This is also a personal best for the new Australian golden girl. In second place was Australia’s Brooke Hanson with a time of 2:13.62 followed by teammate Lara Carroll with a time of 2:13.86.
The Men’s 200m Butterfly final continued the recording breaking theme, with New Zealander Moss Burmester powering home in 1:56.64 to beat Australia's Travis Nederpelt by half a body length. Nederpelt took the silver with a time of 1:57.26 and Joshua Krough also of Australia came in with a time of 1:59.18 giving him the bronze.
The reigning Olympic 4 x 100m Men’s Freestyle Relay champions South Africa held on to their leading status winning the first Relay event of the Games in 3:14.97. The Australians were half a second behind, with Canada finishing third in 3:15.74.
