Commonwealth Games, Day Two Finals: Sam Williamson Uses Stellar Finish to Nab 100 Breaststroke Gold
An electric race unfolded over the second length the men’s 100 breaststroke Commonwealth Games final. South Africa’s Michael Houlie was the dominant swimmer in the early portion of the race, going out under world-record pace in 26.57 at the halfway point, but the field immediately closed the gap off the turn. For a moment, it looked like England’s Adam Ramsay-Peaty, the world-record holder, would reclaim the title he previously won in 2014 and 2018.
But in the closing 15 meters, Ramsay-Peaty could not keep pace with competitors closing in his left and right: Jersey teenager Filip Nowacki and Australia’s Sam Williamson. Those two established a clear advantage entering the finish, and it was Williamson who had sufficient momentum to reach the wall 0.17 ahead.
The 28-year-old Williamson won gold in 59.17, just off the best time of 59.08 he swam at the Australian Trials last month to rank No. 7 in the world.
Nowacki finished in 59.34, improving to 12th in the world rankings while winning the first-ever Commonwealth Games medal in men’s swimming for Jersey. Nowacki won just the fifth medal ever for Jersey at the Commonwealth Games and first since 1990. This might be just the beginning for Nowacki, who won the world junior title in the 200 breast last year and will be favored for gold in that event later in the competition.
Ramsay-Peaty held on to win bronze in 59.65. While he came up short of his gold-medal target and the 58.97 he swam to beat Nowacki at the British Championships earlier this year, Ramsay-Peaty returned to the podium after a shocking fourth-place finish four years ago in Birmingham. Ramsay-Peaty won Olympic gold medals in this event in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo before coming up two hundredths short of a three-peat in Paris, and he is the only swimmer ever under 57.
Canada’s Oliver Dawson just missed the top-three with a fourth-place time of 59.70. Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook, the Tokyo Olympic champion in the 200 breast, came home in a field-leading 31.57 to place fifth (1:00.20) while Houlie faded all the way to seventh (1:00.35).
