Australia’s superstar women swimmers pushed the hosts futher ahead in the Commonwealth Games gold chase on Saturday as a fascinating battle for individual glory unfolded.
Libby Lenton won her second gold in the pool as she continued her pursuit of six titles here while compatriot Leisel Jones captured her second victory in what could be a unique breaststroke treble.
Not to be outdone, Indian shooter Samaresh Jung picked up his second gold of a campaign which he hopes will yield a total of seven.
World record holder Lenton overcame her nemesis Jodie Henry to win the blue riband 100m freestyle gold while Jones swept to her second breaststroke gold in the 200m event in close to her world record time.
Sophie Edington claimed the 100m backstroke gold and the team of Lenton, Bronte Barratt, Kelly Stubbins and Linda MacKenzie swum a Games record to win the 4x200m freestyle relay.
Australia’s golden girls have now won seven golds at the meet with their only loss coming in the 200m freestyle when Scotland’s Caitlin McClatchey upset Lenton.
But if Australia’s women were dominant, the same could not be said for their male counterparts who once again had to play third fiddle to England and Scotland.
Gregor Tait won Scotland’s third gold medal in the 200m backstroke, South African world record holder Roland Schoeman took the 50m butterfly, Christopher Cook headed an English one-two finish in the 100m breaststroke and England won the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay ahead of Scotland and Australia.
Lenton held off Olympic and world champion Jodie Henry to win 100m freestyle in the classic race of the meet.
Lenton posted a Games record time of 53,54 seconds to lead an Australian clean sweep of the medals ahead of Henry and Alice Mills.
Her winning time was just 0,12 second outside her world record of 53,42.
”It was my first individual medal in the event so I’m just so excited,” Lenton said.
Leisel Jones went within 0,18 seconds of breaking her world record in posting an emphatic victory in the 200m breaststroke final.
Jones, the pre-eminent women’s breaststroker in world swimming, claimed her second gold medal of the Games with a slashing victory in 2:20,72.
Jones is now just a victory in the 100m event away from claiming the breaststroke treble.
”I gave everything and I think I might have gone out a bit hard in the first 100m,” Jones said.
Samaresh Jung is also on course for a personal gold medal milestone.
The Indian sharpshooter won the men’s 10m Air Pistol pairs event with Vivek Singh in a new Games record.
He returned an hour later with Ronak Pandit to take the 25m Standard Pistol pairs title with another Games record, lifting India’s gold medal tally on the ranges to five from the first 10 events.
The Delhi-based security officer, 36, who has one pairs and four singles events to follow, declined to predict how far he will go in these Games.
”I am not assuming anything, I have not set any target,” said Jung.
”I will take it one event at a time. All I will say is that I will try my hardest. My philosophy is simple. If I am good enough to win the gold I will not settle for a silver.”
England’s Mike Babb and Chris Hector bagged the men’s 50m Rifle Prone pairs while Susan Jackson and Sheena Sharp won the women’s equivalent for Scotland.
Like his compatriots in the pool, Australian cyclist Ryan Bayley also claimed his second gold medal when he outlasted Scotland’s Ross Edgar in the final of the men’s sprint.
But the night’s other two track golds both went to England with Victoria Pendleton taking the women’s sprint ahead of Australian sisters Anna and Kerrie Meares.
England also triumphed in the men’s 4000m team pursuit ahead of Australia and New Zealand.
Indian teenager Yumnam Chanu won her country’s second weightlifting gold medal of the Games when she clinched a dominant victory in the women’s 58kg.
The 19-year-old was successful with all six lifts to finish with a total of 185kg, comfortably ahead of Canada’s Emily Quarton and Australia’s Natasha Barker who both lifted 178kg.
Australia finished the day on 23 golds with Benjamin Turner winning the men’s 69kg weightlifting title and Chloe Sims and Joshua Jefferis triumphing in the women’s and men’s all-around gymnastics.
The hosts also doubled up in the triathlon thanks to Bradley Kahlefeldt and Emma Snowshill. – Sapa-AFP