Queensland trio lead Diamonds past England in Glasgow
The reigning Commonwealth champions backed up their opening-round win over Tonga with another commanding performance, taking...
QAS-supported swimmers Lani Pallister and Jenna Forrester, alongside QAS-supported Para swimmer Jenna Jones, helped Australia claim six of the nine gold medals on offer on the opening day of Commonwealth Games swimming and Para Swimming in Glasgow.
Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS)-supported athletes helped Australia make a commanding start to the Commonwealth Games swimming and Para Swimming program, with the Dolphins winning six of the nine gold medals on offer at Tollcross Stadium.
Lani Pallister set the tone by winning the women’s 400m freestyle, the first final of the swimming program, to secure Australia’s opening gold medal in the pool.
Pallister led from the outset and was the only swimmer to break four minutes, touching in 3:59.56 ahead of New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather. QAS-supported swimmer Jenna Forrester completed the podium with bronze in 4:05.25.
“The title is really exciting. It’s obviously going through the legacy with my mum and Dawn,” Pallister said.
“Having my first one on the board, I’m stoked with, and to have the first event of the meet go to Australia is awesome.”
The victory carried added meaning for Pallister, whose mother was a Commonwealth Games medallist and whose godmother is Australian swimming great Dawn Fraser.
“The first event of the Games is always one to set the tone, so I’m happy that I can do that for the whole team,” Pallister said.
Forrester returned to the pool about 50 minutes later and produced one of the performances of the night, winning the women’s 200m backstroke in a personal-best time.
It was Forrester’s first Commonwealth Games gold and came in an event she had never previously raced internationally. She had finished fourth at the Australian trials before earning a place in the event following Kaylee McKeown’s withdrawal.
“I did not expect that to happen tonight. I am so over the moon,” Forrester said.
“I didn’t really have much expectation going into the 400 free or the 200 backstroke, so I’m really happy with how that went.”
QAS-supported Para swimmer Jenna Jones also reached the top of the podium, winning the women’s S13 100m freestyle, while Alex Saffy claimed gold in the men’s S10 100m butterfly.
Australia’s relay teams completed the dominant opening session, with the women winning the 4x100m freestyle before the men closed the night with a Games-record victory in 3:09.49.
The Dolphins finished the session with six gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
