The Malta Independent on Sunday
Peaty extends unbeaten run with swimming gold for England
Adam Peaty has gone full cycle, defending his Commonwealth Games title in the 100-meter breaststroke on Saturday to complete a four-year unbeaten run in the event.
Since winning at Glasgow in 2014, Peaty has won an Olympic and two world titles over the distance and is showing no signs of ending the streak.
The 23-year-old Englishman set a games record 58.84 seconds to secure gold, finishing more than a half-second ahead of compatriot James Wilby and South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh was third.
“Even though it is a gold medal, four years undefeated and it has completed the circle or the quad, I’m not happy with that form because it is not the best version of me,” Peaty said. “That was the first time ever I did not feel in control of the race - I let the event get to me and thought about the result not the process.”
Chad le Clos became the first man to win the same event at three Commonwealth Games when he led from start to finish in the 200 butterfly and finished in a games record time of 1 minute, 54 seconds. Le Clos entered the games hoping to beat the record of 18 career medals at the games but can’t do that on the Gold Coast now after missing the podium in two of his first three events. Still, the 200 fly gave him a 14th career medal at the games.
The swimming golds were more evenly distributed on Day 3 after Australia’s dominance in the pool the previous night.
Canada’s world record-holder Kylie Masse edged Australian Emily Seebohm by 0.03 seconds to win the 100 backstroke in a games record 58.63 and Tatjana Schoenmaker won the women’s 200 breaststroke.
Cate Campbell won the 50 freestyle for the home team and the Australians finished off the pool program with victory in the women’s 4x200 freestyle relay in a games record 7:48.04.
Australia topped the overall medal standings with 20 golds, six ahead of England and 15 clear of Canada.
In other events on Day 3:
CYCLING
Sam Webster won the men’s sprint when he beat Jack Carlin of Scotland 2-0 in the final, giving him a second gold for the games after helping New Zealand win the team sprint.
His run to the title included a semifinal win over Malaysia’s Muhammad Sahrom, who had an upset win over world champion Matt Glaetzer earlier in the day.
Glaetzer said he was embarrassed by an elementary error.
“It’s devastating. It was a nightmare unfolding with threequarters of a lap to go,” he said.
Elinor Barker won the women’s 25-kilometre points race to give Wales its second gold of the games, and Australia picked up two more gold medals via Sam Welsford in the 15-kilometre scratch race and Kaarle McCullogh in the 500metre time trial.
GYMNASTICS GOLD
Nile Wilson beat fellow Englishman James Hall in the individual all-around final to claim his second gymnastics gold medal of the games.
Wilson, an Olympic bronze medallist on the horizontal bar, did just enough to win with a combined 84.950.
SQUASHED
Tesni Evans of Wales beat topseeded Laura Massaro to move into the Commonwealth Games women’s squash semifinals against another English player, Sarah-Jane Perry.
The 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 15-13 win continued a recent run of wins for Evans against 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Massaro, including the world championships in December.