AUSSIE SWIM KIDS IN SEVENTH HEAVEN IN INDIA

Posted in Swimming

ryan napoleon 1st 200m free photo commonwealth games website.jpgPune, India, October 16: Australian swimmers are off to a flying start at the third Commonwealth Youth Games, winning seven out of possible 10 gold medals on the opening day's finals last night.

Brisbane based Gold Coaster Ryan Napoleon opened proceedings with an impressive Games record in the 200 metres freestyle, clocking 1:49.62.

Napoleon, from Michael Bohl's St Peters Western squad held on to beat India's fast-finishing Khade Vir Dhaval who won silver in 1:49.86 with Australia's David McKendry claiming bronze in 1:51.93.

Napoleon and McKendry later combined with Thomas Barrett and Jared Christie- Goldthorpe to win gold in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay in 3:24.11 - taking over three seconds off the previous Games record, set by Australia in the 2000 Games in Edinburgh.

Christie-Goldthorpe had earlier won the men's 100m backstroke final in 56.68, breaking his own Games record set earlier in the day.

Chiming in with their own gold medals were:

  • Late inclusion from Miami Jade Neilson, who won the women's 200m freestyle in 2:02.24 - dipping under her own Games record set in the heats.
  • Newcastle's Jessica Legg in the women's 50 metres breaststroke in 32.60 - not quite matching her record-breaking swim of 32.36cheif de mission petria thomas & jessica ash photo darren braybrook.jpg in the heats.
  • Bridgette Taylor in the 100 metres backstroke in a time of 1:02.81, which was also just off her own record of 1:02.46, set in the heats and;
  • The Australian girls team of Phoebe Cater, Kacey Pilgrim, Jessica Ash and Merinda Dingjan in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

Also on the podium were, Amy Smith and Jessica Ash who won silver and bronze behind Jemma Lowe (Wales) who set a new Games record of 27.28 in the women's 50m butterfly, while Thomas Barrett added bronze to his relay gold in the men's 50m butterfly.

Several members of the team, including Ryan Napoleon, Jessica Ash, Lachlan Staples and Merindah Dingjan will arrive back into Sydney next week in time for the FINA/ARENA World Cup on October 25 and 26.

The two-day meet will feature 16 members of Australia's Beijing Olympic team - including gold medallists Bronte Barratt, Emily Seebohm, Angie Bainbridge and Felicity Galvez, silver medallists Brenton Rickard, Ashley Delaney and Christian Sprenger and bronze medallists Grant Brits, Leith Brodie, Alice Mills, Patrick Murphy and Kirk Palmer and international stars Oussama Mellouli (Tunisia) and Stefan Nystrand (Sweden). - Ian Hanson