Cate Campbell swims fastest relay split of all time on a night of golden glory for Australia

CATE Campbell, who returned from the Rio Olympics shattered and uncertain of her future, rebounded by handing in the fastest relay split of all time on a night of glory for Australia with world records and five gold medals.

• Mack Horton wins Australia’s first gold
• McKeon and Titmus beaten to gold
• Australia’s women win gold in women’s 4km pursuit
• Australia reclaim men’s team pursuit world record and win gold
• Australia’s women break world record in the pool to win gold

REVENGE, redemption and raw power drove Australia to a Commonwealth Games gold rush and two stunning world records on the opening night.

A quiet first day of competition, marred by the withdrawal of athletics star Sally Pearson due to injury, exploded into a starburst of five gold medals including cycling and swimming world records which had been hunted with ruthless intent. Pool queen Cate Campbell, who returned from the Rio Olympics shattered and uncertain of her future after crumbling under pressure, rebounded by handing in the fastest relay split of all time (51secs) as Australia beat its own world record by .6sec in the women’s 100M freestyle relay, a stunning punchline to a night of glory. World record falls in pursuit of happiness Two world records on golden Aussie night Campbell was stunned when she saw her fabulous time but was clearly exhausted by the effort of it all. Laid-back Melbourne swim powerhouse Mack Horton delivered Australia’s first pool gold when he snatched the 400m freestyle in a classy time (3min 43.76sec) to quinella the race with Brisbane silver medallist Jack McLoughlin (3:45.21). Starting slowly, he was in fifth position early but his languid, rhythmical stroke overwhelmed his opposition just as it did at the Rio Olympics. “Just swimming in front of a home crowd is unreal. I probably feel more emotion here than in Rio because the whole crowd is cheering for you. It didn’t happen so much in Rio. It’s unreal,” Horton said. “Ten thousand people cheering for you. It’s great to get a gold for Australia.” Australia also reclaimed the men’s team pursuit cycling world record for the first time since 2004 with a storming gold medal ride of 3mins 49.8secs. The Alex Porter, Sam Welsford, Kelland O’Brien and Leigh Howard produced the first ever sub 3:50 ride over 4km to beat old rivals England in the final on the Anna Meares Velodrome. Australia lost a shattering Olympic final to Great Britain in Rio two years ago when it snatched the world record, only for Great Britain to improve it again. Australia left Rio vowing the record would be theirs one day — and it is with a newly modelled team. Welsford is the sole survivor from the Rio campaign with Porter, 21, and O’Brien, 19, making unforgettable Games debuts. “It’s unbelievable, it definitely hasn’t sunk in yet and I’m so happy to pull it off,” O’Brien said. “It overwhelms me having my parents and sisters and all my family here, it’s something really special and I definitely shed a tear.” Earlier, the women pursuiters recaptured some lost glory with a rousing gold medal win. A training crash had ruined their Rio campaign on the tarmac so riders Alex Manly, Annette Edmondson, Amy Cure and Ashlee Ankudinoff embraced for a joyful moment of private bliss on the inside of the track after beating New Zealand. “It was amazing, so good to win but it’s not just us four girls who ride the bike, it’s Georgia Baker, Rebecca Wiasak who made the journey over here and didn’t get a ride but have been pushing us at training every day to perform,” Cure said. “We owe it to them as much as we won there and to all the people who help us.” The Australian pair of Kaarle McCulloch and Stephanie Morton beat New Zealand in the final of the women’s team sprint to notch a third gold medal. RECAP AN INCREDIBLE DAY BELOW

Originally published as Cate Campbell swims fastest relay split of all time on a night of golden glory for Australia

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