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Duncan Scott became Scotland’s most decorated Commonwealth athlete as he took his medal tally to 11 with two swimming bronzes in Birmingham.
England’s Maisie Summers-Newton added Commonwealth gold to her collection of world and Paralympic medals with a dominant victory in the 100m breaststroke SB6.
Compatriot Grace Harvey took silver in front of a jubilant Birmingham crowd after England’s Tom Dean won silver in the 100m men’s freestyle earlier on Monday and Adam Peaty overcame his lack of “spark” to qualify for the 50m breaststroke final.
Scott took bronze behind rival Dean to equal the Scottish medal record then finished third with Scotland’s men’s 4x200m relay team to go out in front on his own.
Dean took his second silver in the relay alongside England’s James Guy, Jacob Whittle and Joe Litchfield, with Scott accompanied by Stephen Milne, Evan Jones and Mark Szaranek.
In the 100m freestyle, Australia’s Kyle Chalmers held off Dean for gold and put his finger to his mouth in a shushing gesture, perhaps a message to those writing “false headlines” about a suggested rift with team-mates Cody Simpson and Emma McKeon.
In the women’s 200m backstroke, Scotland’s Katie Shanahan, 18, won a second bronze of the Games, while England’s Abbie Wood took 200m individual medley bronze.
Summers-Newton has won everything in her sport and could continue that clean sweep after 100m breaststroke SB6 was added to the Commonwealth programme for 2022.
She did not disappoint the home crowd, finishing in one minute 32.62 seconds, with Harvey – competing up a category – 10.57 seconds back.
Summers-Newton lamented the lack of a heat for the event in the morning session, saying: “That would’ve been fantastic to show the crowd what para-swimmers can do even more, but just to come out here in front of a home crowd and get a gold and silver, it’s incredible.”
Rivals, but friends
Having finished second to Dean at the Olympics, Scott got his own back in Birmingham by beating the Englishman to 200m freestyle gold on Saturday.
But he could not match Chalmers and Dean over 100m, with the Englishman charging on the final 50m to the delight of the Sandwell crowd.
Dean told the BBC he “can’t stop smiling” swimming in such noise, but he eventually finished 0.38 seconds outside Chalmers’ time of 47.51 seconds.
The Australian threatened to quit the sport on Sunday because of media speculation over his working relationship with ex-girlfriend McKeon and her current partner Simpson, who are all part of Australia’s swimming team at the Games.
There were certainly no rifts between Chalmers, Dean and Scott, who shared a joke on the podium as they awaited their medals.
Scott spoke of the camaraderie between swimmers, with him and Dean previously discussing their shared love of television comedy The Office, and said of Chalmers: “It’s quite tough what he’s been receiving.
“We all stand with him. He’s an absolute servant to the sport and we love watching him.”
Scott’s total of 11 medals surpasses the mark of 10 set by shooter Alister Allan between 1974 and 1994.
‘I’m not bothered about it’ – Peaty
As shouts of “come on Adam” came from the crowd, England’s Peaty took a deep breath beside the block before his semi-final.
Birmingham 2022 has not gone his way so far, following a broken foot in May, and the three-time Olympic champion had spoken after the morning heats about losing his “spark” over the past two years.
After winning his semi-final, he played down the importance of a first Commonwealth title over 50m, saying in a post-race interview: “I’m not bothered about it – it’s only a 50m breaststroke. I’m not going to overthink it.”
He later clarified his words on Twitter, writing: “Sometimes in the heat of the moment my emotions better me… These championships mean a lot to me being a home Games”.
Peaty added that Tuesday’s final would be his last Commonwealth Games race, having earlier said his focus was on the Olympic Games in 2024.
“It has been an incredibly hard time the past few months but mostly the last few days,” he wrote.
Peaty finished in 27.03 seconds, with compatriot James Wilby – who took 100m gold as Peaty missed out on a medal on Sunday – second in 27.65 seconds.
But it was Australia’s Sam Williamson who qualified fastest for the final as he won his semi-final in 27.01 seconds.
Peaty, 27, was more than a second off the world record he set in 2017 after speaking frankly on Monday morning about the “devastating” impact of missing out on a 100m medal, adding that he would take “a long break” after Tuesday’s 50m final.
As well as Peaty and Wilby, England’s Greg Butler qualified for the final as did Scotland’s Ross Murdoch and Archie Goodburn.
Australia shine again at Sandwell
Australia have dominated in the pool, claiming 39 medals at the Sandwell so far.
Olympic and world champion Kaylee McKeown won the 200m backstroke in a new Games record of two minutes 05.60 seconds before taking silver behind Canadian 15-year-old Summer McIntosh in the 200m individual medley.
That was McIntosh’s fourth medal of the Games, having also claimed gold over 400m.
Australia’s McKeon took a 12th Commonwealth gold in the 50m butterfly, extending her record for most won at the Games having picked up three others in Birmingham so far, and New Zealand’s Andrew Jeffcoat took 50m backstroke gold in the race before.
McKeon’s compatriot Matthew Levy was men’s 50m freestyle S7 champion, with England’s Michael Jones fourth and William Perry eighth, while it was Australia who beat England and Scotland to 4x200m freestyle relay gold.
Australian Matthew Temple qualified fastest ahead of South Africa’s Chad le Clos for the 100m butterfly final.
England’s James Guy, Jamie Ingram and Jacob Peters also sealed their places in that final, while Anna Hopkin and Freya Anderson are in the women’s 100m freestyle final.
Culled from BBC SPORT
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