Australia rules the pool in Delhi

Swimming Australia
Published: Oct 10, 2010 07:45:44 AM Updated: Jun 9, 2011 02:29:39 PM
In this article: Jessicah Schipper, Brenton Rickard,

Australia has capped off an amazing Commonwealth Games campaign with Jessicah Schipper, Brenton Rickard and the two medley relay teams all winning gold medals in the Delhi pool overnight, taking our swim total to 22 and surpassing our haul of 19 from Melbourne 2006.

With four gold, two silver and two bronze, Australia ended six days of swimming in Delhi with 54 medals, including disabled, exactly the same as in Melbourne.

The women won 31 medals, 15 gold, nine silver and seven bronze.

The men took 23 medals, seven gold, seven silver and nine bronze. 

Schipper set the ball rolling on the final night when she won the 200m butterfly for the 19th gold medal, which equalled the Melbourne tally.

She clocked 2:07.04 to finish ahead of Canada's Audrey Lacroix (2:07.31) and England's Ellen Gandy (2:07.75).

"I've been racing Audrey my whole life so I knew it was going to be tough,'' Schipper said.

"I knew it was going to be hard but I kind of just put my head down in that last 25 and said 'This is only my swim, just give it my all'.

"This is absolutely fantastic. It has been such an up and down year.

"To come here and be able to perform well is a very good way to finish it off.''

Rickard then took the gold medal tally to 20 when he held on for a thrilling victory in the 200m breaststroke.

Swimming from lane two, Rickard led by almost one second after 150m, but was put under pressure by Scotland's Michael Jamieson down the final lap.

Rickard tired badly in the last 15m but managed to hold out the Scot to win in 2:10.89.

Australia also took bronze through Christian Sprenger.

"It wasn't the greatest 200m I've done this year - far from it,'' Rickard said.

"But in tough conditions on the last night of racing to get up there and win the touch for once is an awfully nice feeling.''

Meanwhile, Sprenger said he wasn't sure whether he would race the 200m again, despite being the current world record holder.

"At the moment, my ideas on the 200m breaststroke are very clouded after that race,'' he said.

"For the moment, that was the last long-course 200m breaststroke of my career.

"But Libby (Trickett)'s coming back from retirement, so I guess anything's possible.''

Gold No. 22 came when the women's medley relay team beat England home by 3.10sec in a time of 3:56.99, with Canada third, on the back of a brilliant breaststroke leg by Leisel Jones.

She took over just 0.30sec ahead of England's Kate Haywood but handed over to butterfly swimmer Schipper with a lead of  3.32sec.

And although England closed the gap slightly over the final two legs, freestyle anchor Alicia Coutts was never in danger of being caught.

Jones, who now has 10 Commonwealth Games gold medals, said: “We love competing in the medley relay, we have a lot of fun. I’ve got a gold medal and I get to share it with three lovely girls.”

Coutts, who finished the Games with five golds, said: "I am really happy with the way I went. This is my best meet.”

The men's relay team can thank great swims by breaststroker Brenton Rickard and Geoff Huegill in the butterfly for the victory over South Africa and England in a games record of 3:33.15 - the Dophins' 22nd  gold.

But both Aussies missed medals in the men's 50m freestyle, with Canada's Brent Hayden (22.01), South Africans Roland Schoeman (22.14) and Gideon Louw taking the honours.

Cameron Prosser finished fifth and Eamon Sullivan dead-heated for sixth.

"It’s been a tough week," Rickard said. "The conditions here are hard.

“To get first is very satisfying after five minor medals."

Samantha Hamill won silver in the women's 400m individual medley after a brave attempt to catch the winner, Scotland's Hannah Miley, down the last lap.

Miley set a new Games record of 4:38.83, with Hamill's 4:39.45 also inside the old best time.

England's Kerri-Anne Payne was third, just ahead of the second Australian, Blair Evans.  

"I'm pretty relieved that it's all over to be honest,'' Hamill said.

"I was pretty stuffed after the 200m fly and mentally it was really hard to kind of get my head together because the fly was such a disappointing race.

"I had about 20 minutes, half an hour, to swim down and get my head together and I'm actually really happy with that time.''

Hamill was hopeful of coming away with a Games medal - but in the 200m butterfly.

"The 200m fly hasn't gone my way this year,'' said Hamill, who finished behind Schipper at the national titles this year.

"It's obviously my best event, so I thought.

"But to kind of get my head together within 20 minutes (for the 400m IM) I thought was really good of me.

"And to come away with the silver medal was awesome.''

Ryan Napoleon (15:28.70) found the pace too hot in the men's 1500m freestyle, finishing a distant sixth behind Canada's Ryan Cochrane.

Cochrane won in 15:01.49, ahead of 19-year-old South African Heerden Herman and England's Daniel Fogg.  

Disabled Australian Ellie Cole won bronze in the women's 100m S10, behind South African gold-medallist  Natalie Du Toit, while Andrew Pasterfield earned silver in the men's S10 100m freestyle behind Canada's Benoit Huot and in front of England's Robert Welbourn.

Australian Matthew Cowdrey, swimming up a division, finished fourth in a record time for his usual division, S9.

“The lead in the legs and arms came on faster than I thought, but I’m happy with the silver medal," Pasterfield said.