Commonwealth Games: Australia to amaze the world in swimming

Everything is ready in Birmingham, for the opening of the Commonwealth Games which will see Prince Charles in the stands to represent Queen Elizabeth. The last English torchbearer will be Tom Daley, the diver who will not compete but leads the protest against homophobia and makes inclusion a flag. And there are several “queens” in swimming, ready to amaze. Olympic champions Ariarne Titmus and Emma McKeon return to the Commonwealth Games with gold goals and world records and leading an Australian team of insane depth. After the Tokyo Olympics in which she dethroned the great American Katie Ledecky in the 200 and 400 freestyle, Titmus stunned at the Australian Championships in May, missing by 35 cents the world record of 200 meters set in 2009 by Federica Pellegrini (1 ‘ 52 “98) and improving the world record of Ledecky in the 400 meters by 6 cents in 3’56” 40. Titmus, 21, then gave up on the Budapest World Cup to bet everything on the Commonwealth Games. “I am very energized, even to be part of a very strong national team,” said the Commonwealth Games champion in the 400 and 800 meters. McKeon, 28, also snubbed the World Cup after winning seven medals in Tokyo; she also boasts a phenomenal Commonwealth Games record, with eight gold medals and four bronze medals in two appearances in Glasgow in 2014 and the Gold Coast four years later.

Record of medals

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McKeon aims to break the all-time record of 10 gold medals for an Australian currently held together by Ian Thorpe, Susie O’Neill and Leisel Jones. She is ready to compete in the 50’s and 100’s freestyle again, but has stiff competition from sensational teen Mollie O’Callaghan, who beat Swedish world record holder Sarah Sjostrom in Budapest to win 100 free of six medals. she. McKeon said she will perform at her best given the rapid rise of the new generation. “You can’t be too complacent about what you’ve done or feel too comfortable, otherwise you won’t continue to work hard, I have to outdo myself to remain the best.”

A matter of heart and family

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The Commonwealth Games hold a special place in McKeon’s heart, with her father Ron winning gold in swimming in 1978 and 1982. Her mother, Susie Woodhouse, also competed in 1982. Australia also ranks the champion. Olympic and world 200 backstroke Kaylee McKeown (who renounces the 400 medley), while the pop star Cody Simpson will have a lot of attention after returning a decade later to be a swimmer and put on standby a musical career during which he worked with Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, his ex. He wants to play the Games and will duel at home in the 100 butterfly with Kyle Chalmers, who was a boy friend of McKeon, now linked to Simpson. He will miss the emergent Isaac Cooper in the back, sent home for drug use. Australia led the general classification of medals at the Commonwealth Games of 2018, with 80 golds against England’s 45 (which finds the runner Adam Peaty absent from the World Cup due to an injury to his right foot) and 26 in the India. In addition to the swimming pool, he focuses on cycling, in which he is in first place in the last seven Commonwealth Games, dominating in 2018 with 14 golds, a domain that England intends to interrupt. Caleb Ewan and track specialist Matthew Glaetzer (aiming for a gold hat-trick in keirin), will lead the field in Birmingham. Sprint ace Ewan will aim for the road test on August 7, after the Tour.

Other sports

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Australia also has a strong track and field team led by new tall world champion Eleanor Patterson. Commonwealth javelin champion Kathryn Mitchell and 2018 high jump gold medal Brandon Starc will also be in attendance. Mitchell and marathon runner Eloise Wellings will be in their fifth year, the first in Australian athletics to achieve the feat. “I never imagined I’d go to so many,” Mitchell said. “Australia has such a strong history that I believe it creates a unique team atmosphere.” Australia also dominates in women’s cricket, where world champions led by Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy will start as favorites. But it is from swimming that they await the boom.