Commonwealth Games, Day 6 Finals: Kyle Chalmers, Ben Armbruster Tie for 50 Fly Gold With Another Australian Sweep
For the sixth time in Glasgow, Australian swimmers have swept all three spots on the podium, but this time, two men will stand on the top step. In the men’s 50 butterfly final, Kyle Chalmers finished in a dead-heat with teammate Ben Armbruster to share the gold medal with teammate Cam McEvoy just behind in bronze-medal position.
Chalmers, 28, and Armbruster, 24, had already tied in the semifinal round, recording matching times of 22.82 to fall one hundredth off the Games record set by England’s Ben Proud in 2022. In the final, Armbruster got off to the best start and appeared to be leading down most of the lap before Chalmers caught up in the closing meters, appearing on track to win the gold outright. But Armbruster managed to get his hands to the wall in the exact same time.
At 22.73, Chalmers and Armbruster both broke the Games record. They also matched the Australian and Oceanic records first set by Matt Targett in 2009. The duo now sit in a four-way tie for fourth in the world rankings along with Noè Ponti and Ilya Kharun.
This medal is Armbruster’s first gold at a senior-level international competition; earlier in the week, his bronze in the 100 fly was his first-ever podium appearance. Chalmers, best known for his consistency atop the 100 freestyle over the past decade, won his ninth Commonwealth Games gold but his first racing any stroke aside from freestyle. In fact, this is the first time Chalmers has won a butterfly medal at any international competition since the 2014 Oceanic Games. Chalmers won his fourth medal of the Glasgow meet, having previously taken bronze in the 100 free and helping Australia to wins in the men’s and mixed 400 free relays.
McEvoy placed third in 22.92, adding to his previous gold in the 50 free and capturing the 10th Commonwealth Games medal of his career. He tied his season-best mark and remained at No. 11 in the world rankings. Canada’s Josh Liendo ended up well out of contention with his third-place time of 23.30.
