Commonwealth Games: Australia Dominates Men’s 400 Free Relay

Commonwealth Games: Flynn Southam Blazes 47.09 Leadoff, Australia Dominates Men’s 400 Free Relay; Two Games Records

Thanks to the heroics of Kyle Chalmers on the anchor leg, Australia has captured world titles within the males’s 400 freestyle relay in 2023 and 2025. At the Commonwealth Games, the Aussie males have been anticipated to dominate the sphere within the last occasion of night time one, and the quartet of Flynn Southam, Kai Taylor, Harrison Turner and Chalmers certainly got here by way of to win by greater than a second.

In the method, Southam solidified himself as a dash star. The 21-year-old has been a part of this relay the final three years, and he entered with a greatest time, however he annihilated that mark whereas placing Australia’s challengers out of vary from the beginning. Southam touched in 47.09, knocking off the Games report of 47.36 set by Chalmers in 2022.

Moreover, Southam’s time made him the second-fastest 100 freestyler on the earth this 12 months behind Russian Egor Kornev, and he grew to become the Eleventh-fastest performer in historical past and fourth-best Australian behind Cam McEvoy, Eamon Sullivan and Chalmers. He sits solely 5 hundredths behind McEvoy’s decade-old Oceanic report, with an actual probability at breaking that mark in particular person competitors in Glasgow or on the upcoming Pan Pacific Championships.

Southam’s teammates additionally got here by way of with fantastic swims. Taylor cut up 47.53 earlier than Turner went 47.94. Chalmers pulled away together with his 46.93, 4 tenths slower than he swam on final 12 months’s world-title-winning relay, however it didn’t matter with the Dolphins totally accountable for the race. Australia’s last time was 3:09.49, obliterating the earlier Games report of three:11.12 set in 2022. The crew went slower than final 12 months’s time of three:08.97 however nonetheless faster than second-place Italy swam that day in Singapore.

The Australian crew will race once more at Pan Pacs, however Chalmers will skip that meet, which can damage the crew’s ambitions in one other showdown in opposition to the United States. Still, the Americans and different prime dash nations will likely be properly conscious of the Aussies’ capabilities when the full-strength group reassembles at subsequent 12 months’s World Championships in Budapest.

In the battle behind the clear winners, England took management of the battle for silver. Jacob Mills and James Guy dealt with the primary two legs earlier than Gabriel Shepherd and Jacob Whittle swam 47s to complete out the occasion. England got here in at 3:11.69, two seconds away from every other crew. Bronze went to South Africa’s Pieter Coetze, Guy Brooks, Ruard van Renen and Chad le Clos in 3:13.99. The 34-year-old le Clos, competing in his fifth Commonwealth Games, secured his nineteenth total medal on the competitors.

The greatest non-Australian cut up belonged to Duncan Scott, who went 47.48 on the second leg for Scotland. Scott beforehand gained gold within the 200 IM earlier within the night time. Also of notice was Canada’s Josh Liendo, who led off in 48.13.