Aussie swimmers get a sinking feeling at Commonwealth Games

MELBOURNE – Australia’s superstar swimmers endured a nightmare start to the 18th Commonwealth Games yesterday as their dreams of a record gold medal haul suffered a devastating early blow.

The host nation’s problems were then compounded when their weightlifting team found itself at the centre of a drugs row leaving Asian lifters to seize their opportunity with a double gold strike. Australia did manage to repair some of the damage to their reputation with two golds out of three in cycling but it was not enough to ease the pain of what happened in the pool with Scotland dishing out the unexpected mugging.Caitlin McClatchey smashed Australian favourite Libby Lenton’s dreams of winning a record seven golds by capturing the 200-metres freestyle in a Games record.”I had actually never heard of the Scottish girl before today and she did a fantastic swim and ultimately tonight was all about racing and I think I did pretty well tonight,” Lenton said.David Carry then completed an exhilarating night for Scottish swimming with victory in the men’s 400m freestyle.Olympic champions South Africa rounded off the opening night by touching out Australia to claim the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay for Australia’s first defeat in the event since the 1978 Edmonton Games.McClatchey, the first Scottish woman to win an individual medal at the world championships with bronze in the 400m freestyle at Montreal last year, overhauled the fast-starting Lenton in one minute 57.25 seconds.”I didn’t really expect to win the 200m.When I turned at the last 50m I knew I could win if I put my head down,” McClatchey said.”It is just fantastic and a bit of a shock.”Lenton finished with silver.England’s Melanie Marshall took bronze.Carry took gold in the next final, pulling away to win in 3:48.17 from Canada’s Andrew Hurd with David Davies of Wales third.Carry went into the event as the top-ranked 400m swimmer in the Commonwealth after Australia’s world champion Grant Hackett withdrew to have shoulder surgery.New Zealander Moss Burmester joined in the Scottish and South African celebrations by leading from the start to win in the men’s 200m butterfly in a Games record 1:56.64 from Australians Travis Nederpelt and Joshua Krogh.Stephanie Rice won Australia’s only swimming gold to lead a home clean sweep of the medals in the women’s 200m individual medley.Rice swept home to trump team-mates Brooke Hanson and Lara Carroll.India had the honour of winning the first gold of the Games when 38-year-old Kunjarani Devi beat off rivals half her age to successfully defend her women’s 48 kg weightlifting title.The veteran overcame a poor start before edging out the teenage challenge of Marilou Dozois-Prevost of Canada and Australia’s Erika Yamasaki who settled for silver and bronze respectively.She finished with a combined score of 166 kg for a Games record with the blonde Canadian on 165 kg while Yamasaki lifted 153 kg.Malaysia also got off the mark with Mohd Faizal Baharom winning the men’s 56 kg gold ahead of India’s Vicky Batta and compatriot Matin Guntali.The 24-year-old Baharom, a bronze medal winner in 2002, put in a commanding performance with a snatch of 115 kg followed by 140 kg in clean and jerk.Australia drew first blood in track cycling when world-record holder Anna Meares claimed gold medal in the women’s 500 m time-trial.Meares edged out English hope Victoria Pendleton in a time of 34.326 seconds while reigning Commonwealth champion Kerrie Meares, the winner’s sister, claimed bronze.Ben Kersten of Australia won the men’s 1 km time trial ahead of favourites Jason Queally of England and Scotland’s Chris Hoy.England’s Paul Manning won gold in the men’s 4000 m individual pursuit with an English clean sweep completed by Ron Hayles and Stephen Cummings.Canada got off the mark when their men’s gymnastics team retained the title they won in Manchester placing ahead of Australia and England.The host nation found themselves at the centre of an embarrassing and potentially damaging drugs storm on Thursday.Australia’s sports minister claimed that pills, syringes and vials were found in several rooms used by the country’s weightlifting team at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra.A cleaner discovered the needles on Tuesday while a second forensic sweep of rooms at the Canberra institution on Wednesday uncovered the tablets.-Nampa-AFPAustralia did manage to repair some of the damage to their reputation with two golds out of three in cycling but it was not enough to ease the pain of what happened in the pool with Scotland dishing out the unexpected mugging.Caitlin McClatchey smashed Australian favourite Libby Lenton’s dreams of winning a record seven golds by capturing the 200-metres freestyle in a Games record.”I had actually never heard of the Scottish girl before today and she did a fantastic swim and ultimately tonight was all about racing and I think I did pretty well tonight,” Lenton said.David Carry then completed an exhilarating night for Scottish swimming with victory in the men’s 400m freestyle.Olympic champions South Africa rounded off the opening night by touching out Australia to claim the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay for Australia’s first defeat in the event since the 1978 Edmonton Games.McClatchey, the first Scottish woman to win an individual medal at the world championships with bronze in the 400m freestyle at Montreal last year, overhauled the fast-starting Lenton in one minute 57.25 seconds.”I didn’t really expect to win the 200m.When I turned at the last 50m I knew I could win if I put my head down,” McClatchey said.”It is just fantastic and a bit of a shock.”Lenton finished with silver.England’s Melanie Marshall took bronze.Carry took gold in the next final, pulling away to win in 3:48.17 from Canada’s Andrew Hurd with David Davies of Wales third.Carry went into the event as the top-ranked 400m swimmer in the Commonwealth after Australia’s world champion Grant Hackett withdrew to have shoulder surgery.New Zealander Moss Burmester joined in the Scottish and South African celebrations by leading from the start to win in the men’s 200m butterfly in a Games record 1:56.64 from Australians Travis Nederpelt and Joshua Krogh.Stephanie Rice won Australia’s only swimming gold to lead a home clean sweep of the medals in the women’s 200m individual medley.Rice swept home to trump team-mates Brooke Hanson and Lara Carroll.India had the honour of winning the first gold of the Games when 38-year-old Kunjarani Devi beat off rivals half her age to successfully defend her women’s 48 kg weightlifting title.The veteran overcame a poor start before edging out the teenage challenge of Marilou Dozois-Prevost of Canada and Australia’s Erika Yamasaki who settled for silver and bronze respectively.She finished with a combined score of 166 kg for a Games record with the blonde Canadian on 165 kg while Yamasaki lifted 153 kg.Malaysia also got off the mark with Mohd Faizal Baharom winning the men’s 56 kg gold ahead of India’s Vicky Batta and compatriot Matin Guntali.The 24-year-old Baharom, a bronze medal winner in 2002, put in a commanding performance with a snatch of 115 kg followed by 140 kg in clean and jerk.Australia drew first blood in track cycling when world-record holder Anna Meares claimed gold medal in the women’s 500 m time-trial.Meares edged out English hope Victoria Pendleton in a time of 34.326 seconds while reigning Commonwealth champion Kerrie Meares, the winner’s sister, claimed bronze.Ben Kersten of Australia won the men’s 1 km time trial ahead of favourites Jason Queally of England and Scotland’s Chris Hoy.England’s Paul Manning won gold in the men’s 4000 m individual pursuit with an English clean sweep completed by Ron Hayles and Stephen Cummings.Canada got off the mark when their men’s gymnastics team retained the title they won in Manchester placing ahead of Australia and England.The host nation found themselves at the centre of an embarrassing and potentially damaging drugs storm on Thursday.Australia’s sports minister claimed that pills, syringes and vials were found in several rooms used by the country’s weightlifting team at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra.A cleaner discovered the needles on Tuesday while a second forensic sweep of rooms at the Canberra institution on Wednesday uncovered the tablets.-Nampa-AFP