Gold Coast: There was yet more gold for Australia on the final night of swimming at the Commonwealth Games, along with personal milestones for South African Chad Le Clos and Canadian teenager Taylor Ruck.
Australia came into the sixth night with 20 gold medals, and added six more: Ariarne Titmus won the women’s 400-metre freestyle, adding to her 800m title, Emily Seebohm took the 50m backstroke, Mitch Larkin the 200m individual medley and Jack McLoughlin the 1,500m ahead of last-lap Australian victories in the medley relays.
In the only other final Tuesday, England’s Benjamin Proud won gold in the men’s 50m freestyle.
Titmus, 17, was dominant in her race, winning by 4.5 seconds in 4 minutes, 00.98 seconds. She nearly cost her coach, Dean Boxall, a serious haircut.
“Dean said if I won, he would get his hair in braids, so I’m really excited,” Titmus said. “He said if I went under four minutes, he would shave his head. Maybe we will save that for another time.”
Ahead of Tuesday night’s competition, Le Clos won gold in all three butterfly distances — the 50m, 100m and 200m, and had a silver in the 100m freestyle. Those four medals had increased his career Commonwealth Games total to 16, a record for a swimmer, and two less than the record 18 overall held by two shooters.
Le Clos made it 17 when South Africa won bronze in the medley relay.
The 17-year-old Ruck finished with eight medals at these Games, breaking a 52-year-old Canadian women’s record. Canadian Elaine Tanner won seven medals (four gold and three silver) at the 1966 edition in Kingston, Jamaica.
Ruck had one gold, five silver and two bronze medals on the Gold Coast, picking up her eighth medal on Tuesday night when Canada finished second in the medley relay.
Games officials also said that Ruck’s eight medals equalled a single games record, in all sports. Australian swimmer Susie O’Neill and Seebohm had done it previously.
