After the fabulous flood of four medals on opening night, it was a more subdued evening for Scotland in the pool as the Saturday night headlines were grabbed by the all-conquering Australians and English superstar Adam Ramsay-Peaty.
While the Aussies racked up five more gold medals, including Sam Williamson’s stunning win in the 100m breaststroke final which saw Ramsay-Peaty have to settle for bronze, there was no more hardware collected by the host nation.
Yet the action at Tollcross continued to deliver some fine performances from Scottish swimmers and the promise of further trips to the podium in the coming days.
Personal bests, Scottish records and final spots were claimed as the feelgood factor generated by Duncan Scott’s golden start on Friday was maintained.
Angharad Evans looks in perfect shape to follow Scott’s example and will go into tonight’s 100m breaststroke final as favourite to win gold. The 23-year-old was the fastest qualifier for the final and looked imperious as she won her semi-final in 1:05.34.
Anna Morgan, the other Scot in the field, finished fifth in the other semi-final and missed out.
Evans powers to first place in her 100m breaststroke semi-final
The 23-year-old goes into tonight’s final as hot favourite to claim gold
Katie Shanahan followed up her superb silver medal from the 200m backstroke on Friday by reaching the 100m backstroke final which also takes place tonight. Shanahan was the slowest qualifier for the final as she came fourth in her semi-final which was won by Hannah Fredericks of Australia. But the 22-year-old Glaswegian was more than content with her time of 1:00.74, a season’s best, and believes she will have more gears to go through in the final.
‘The race tonight was a bit slower than I thought it would be with the girls who were in it, but I was glad to get under that 1:01 again,’ said Shanahan. ‘I’ve struggled with that all season and that’s my best so far. I’ll take that.
‘I know that I’m in really good shape. It’s just about getting back in the pool every day and doing as best I can. Hopefully I’ve got more left in the tank for the final. Hopefully I can be close to a PB.
‘If anything, getting the silver medal on Friday night probably helped me today. I always swim well when I do well on day one of a meet.
‘Now that I’ve got that medal, I can kind of relax almost and enjoy the meet. Coming into it, I wanted to get a medal better than the bronze I got last time. So now I can enjoy it. I’ll be able to enjoy the crowd at the final, take it all in.’
Shanahan’s team-mate Holly McGill missed out on the final, however, finishing sixth in a high quality semi-final won by three-time world champion Kylie Masse of Canada.
The 50m sprints are won by paper-thin margins and Matt Ward was delighted with his seventh place final finish in a new Scottish record of 24.75 which was 0.57 seconds behind winner Pieter Coetze of South Africa. The 21-year-old still has his stronger 100m backstroke event to come and believes he has a strong chance of claiming a medal.
‘I said to my coaches that I was going to push barriers here,’ said Ward. ‘They always remind us that it’s a home Games and if something special is going to happen, it will happen here.
‘I just chanced it tonight and gave it my best effort. I pushed the boundaries as much as I could. To get a PB and Scottish record, I’m over the moon. It exceeded my expectations. I knew it would be tough in that field, we are all nip and tuck. I pushed it and nearly got my hand on the wall.
‘It puts me in good stead for the 100m. I’m going into it third fastest in the field so hopefully I can come out of it with a medal. We’ve got some strong relays coming up too and I just want to put my best foot forward.’
Lucy Grieve recorded a PB in the 50m butterfly final but could only finish in seventh place
Lucy Grieve, who was diagnosed with coeliac disease earlier this year, was another to record a personal best of 26.42 as she finished seventh in the women’s 50m butterfly final won by Alex Perkins of Australia.
‘Two months ago when I was diagnosed, I never thought I was going to swim again,’ said the 22-year-old. ‘So for me, that was a really successful race and I felt like I’d won when I came out of the water.
‘I was so excited coming into this, my first Games and a home Games, but nothing can prepare you for the crowd here. It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before.
‘We are all putting our heart and soul into it in the pool as are the people in the stands. It’s been amazing.
‘It’s not just the medals, there have been so many PBs from our team and it’s nice doing that together. We really bounce off each other and I feel so lucky to be part of it.
‘It’s the first time I’ve seen the Australian girls in person and not just on the telly. I’m still a bit of a fan girl for them! I can learn a lot from them but I can learn a lot from everyone I train with. It’s inspirational and hopefully I can get a bit closer to them next time.’
Dean Fearn and Evan Jones both missed out on a place in the 100m butterfly final as they finished fifth and sixth respectively in their semi-finals. Matthew Temple of Australia was the fastest qualifier in a new Games record of 50.63.
Australia, who racked up 11 medals on the opening night, continued their dominance in the first final of the night as they filled the podium in the men’s 400m freestyle.
Former world champion Sam Short led the Aussies home in an emphatic display, more than four seconds ahead of team-mates Elijah Winnington and Benjamin Goedemans who took silver and bronze.
Sean McCann trailed from the opening leg onwards but simply reaching this final was a huge career landmark for the 21-year-old younger brother of Madeleine, who went missing on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007, and whose parents Kate and Gerry looked on proudly from the Tollcross stands.
The night predictably ended with further Aussie success in the 4 x 100 mixed freestyle relay where even the presence of Duncan Scott could only help Scotland to a fifth place finish.
