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BIRMINGHAM, England — Australian swimmer Emma McKeon became the Commonwealth Games’ most successful athlete during a history-making night in the pool in Birmingham on Sunday.
The 28-year-old McKeon claimed her 11th gold medal, spread across editions in Glasgow, the Gold Coast and now Birmingham, to set a new Commonwealth mark.
Starting in lane three in the 50-meter freestyle, McKeon led home an Australia trifecta in a time of 23.99 seconds, with Meg Harris second and Shayna Jack claiming the bronze.
With McKeon’s parents Ron and Susie sitting in the stands, the five-time Olympic gold medalist surpassed fellow Australian swimmers Ian Thorpe, Susie O’Neill and Leisel Jones.
“It is a fun event for me, the 50. I feel like I am a lot more relaxed this year than last year,” McKeon said. “And I have not done as much work as I had this time last year but the place I am in mentally is showing in my performances.”
McKeon is within range of setting another record in Birmingham. She has now won 16 Commonwealth Games medals and has another four races to compete in. South African Chad le Clos equaled the current Commonwealth record of 18 medals earlier Sunday — a decade after causing one of the great Olympic upsets in London.
The South African timed his finish to perfection in the 200-meter butterfly in the 2012 Olympics to defeat American superstar Michael Phelps by .05 seconds.
Bidding to celebrate the milestone with a golden success in the same event in Birmingham, the 30-year-old le Clos led for most of the race but was reeled in by New Zealander Lewis Clareburt.
But the silver medal was enough for le Clos to join shooters Michael Gault and Phil Adams in a three-way tie for first, though McKeon is closing rapidly on the trio.
Australia’s stunning meet in the pool continued when the combination of Maddie Wilson, Kiah Melverton, Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus set a world record of 7:39.29 in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
Titmus, a double Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo last year, anchored the quartet when recording a time of 1:52.82, the quickest split in a 4×200-meter relay in history. The 21-year-old touched the wall more than 12 seconds in front of the silver medalists Canada, with England another five seconds behind in third.
In London, champion cyclist Chris Hoy has called for a design change at velodromes to prevent competitors from being catapulted into the crowd after an accident on Sunday.
Three riders were hospitalized and spectators required medical attention when Olympic gold medalist Matt Walls and his bike were thrown into the stands at the Lee Valley velodrome.
The morning session of the Commonwealth Games event was abandoned and spectators ushered out of the velodrome as doctors treated Walls for almost 40 minutes in the stands.
The Isle of Man’s Matt Bostock and Canadian Derek Gee were also taken to hospital, while it was reported that an injured fan was taken away from the scene in a wheelchair.
Team England confirmed Walls was well enough to be released from hospital later on Sunday.
“Following medical treatment in hospital, Matt Walls has been discharged with stitches in his forehead, scrapes and bruises, but thankfully no major injuries,” the statement read.
“We send our best wishes to all other riders and spectators involved in the crash and thank the medical teams for their expert care.”
Bostock underwent scans and a statement from Team Isle of Man said the prognosis was positive. Gee also underwent tests and has since posted social media footage of the crash.
While serious injuries were avoided, six-time Olympic gold medalist Hoy said incidents where cyclists were thrown into the crowd are preventable.
“Personally, I think it’s preventable if you put a plexiglass screen around, like they do in ice hockey,” he told BBC Sport.
“Look at motorsport and its catch fencing and the lengths they go to to protect the crowd and also the athletes.
“All we can do is learn from mistakes and think: How can we make the velodrome safer for athletes and spectators?”