Australians figure prominently at the first Swim session

The stage is set for an exciting opening night of swimming at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, with Australians set to figure prominently in all four finals following the morning heats held this morning.

Brisbane 21-year-old Libby Lenton cruised through her heat to qualify third fastest (2:00.16) for the 200m Women’s freestyle final this evening, the first event in her ambitious quest for a record seven gold medals at these Games.

Queensland’s Linda McKenzie, Lenton’s chief rival and conqueror at last month’s national swim trials, was marginally quicker, recording a time of 2:00.11, but they were both behind unheralded Scotswoman, Caitlin McClatchey, who came home in 1:59.96.

Sandwiched between the two Aussies, McClatchey will swim in lane four during tonight’s eagerly anticipated showdown, with the other main threat, England’s Melanie Marshall, beside Lenton in lane two.

National champion Craig Stevens proved he is a worthy competitor in the 400m Men’s freestyle event, winning his heat in 3:51.26 and qualifying first for the final. A late call-up to the team, the popular Stevens will aim to complete the fairytale return with victory tonight.

Brooke Hanson showed why she is the favourite to win the Women’s 200m Individual medley, clocking the fastest time of 2:15.26 in the morning’s heats. However, hot on her heels is teammate and world championship bronze medallist, Lara Carroll, just 0.04 of a second behind Hanson. Both swimmers were well ahead of the pack and appear set to duel for the title tonight.

In the Men’s 200m butterfly, Travis Nederpelt blitzed the field in 1:57.36, recording a time more than two and a half seconds faster than his nearest competitor, New Zealand’s Moss Burmester (1:59.87). Fellow Aussies Joshua Krogh and Andrew Richards have also qualified for the final, but Nederpelt will fancy his chances of snaring his first Commonwealth Games gold.

The other final on the schedule is the Men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, with Australia a good chance to medal behind favourites, South Africa.

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