Commonwealth Games, Delhi, day 1 finals

Women's 200m freestyle

Kylie Palmer took the first gold of the Games in the pool for Australia with a 1:57.50 victory. Silver went to Jazmin Carlin (WAL) in 1:58.29, bronze to Rebecca Adlington (ENG) in 1:58.47.

Palmer was out fast a touch behind a courageous Genevieve Saumur (CAN), out on the edge in lane 1 but determined to make the most of her underdog status. Saumur led on 27.80 at 50, 57.63 at 100, with Palmer on 57.87, before Palmer loaded on the pressure to turn first in 1:27.78. The fastest homecoming splits came from Brits Carlin and Adlington, respectively on 29.31 and 29.27 down the last length, however the Aussie leader had not only done enough but was still rolling, a 29.72 last 50m split the only other sub-30sec effort in the final. Saumur almost reaped the rewards of her brave start, finishing fourth just 0.03sec shy of a medal as Carlin, living up to her billing as pitbull (from coach  Bud McAllister) came back from 6th to 2nd down the last lap and Adlington sealed the podium with the other fastest finish in the race, from 7th place at the last turn to bronze by the close.

The 2006 Commonwealth record stands still to Caitlin McClatchey (SCO), out in morning heats, while Australia extended its historic lead in the titles race to seven crowns in 11 times of asking.

Palmer, now coached by Stephan Widmer in Brisbane, said: "It's definitely one of the highlights of my career [winning gold]."  She had recovered from a shoulder injury, of which she said: "I'd wake up in the morning and want to quit swimming altogether but the people around me, like my family and friends, kept me going."

Carlin's take on her medal - and the first medal for a Welsh woman in the race pool since 1974 - went: "It's such an amazing feeling. My mum will be on the sofa at home crying. It's such an honour to be part of the Welsh team."

Adlington, Olympic 400m and 800m champion, emphasised that the 200m is a race she takes on in order to be relay sharp in the 4x200m and added: "I definitely didn't expect this at all. I thought I'd get around maybe fourth or fifth so I'm very happy I got third place."

The result:

• Palmer (AUS) 1:57.50
• Carlin (WAL) 1:58.29
• Adlington (ENG) 1:58.47
• Saumur (CAN) 1:58.50
• Joanne Jackson (ENG) 1:58.66
• Blair Evans (AUS) 1:58.83
• Lauren Boyle (NZL) 1:58.96
• Barbara Jardin (CAN) 2:00.76

History in the making:

Top 3 comparisons

• 2010: 1:57.50; 1:58.29; 1:58.47
  
• 2006: 1:57.25; 1:57.51; 1:58.11
• 2002: 1:59.69; 1:59.86; 2:00.07

Gold-medal leader board: AUS: 7/11 (since 1970 debut)

Records:

• Shiny suit WR: 1:52.98 Federica Pellegrini (ITA) 2009
• Textile suit best: 1:55.45 Pellegrini 2010
• Commonwealth Games: 1:57.25 Caitlin McClatchey (SCO) 2006

(Pellegrini won the Olympic title in 1:54.82 but wore two suits at the time, a practice that was subsequently banned amid the chaos of shiny suits).

Rankings

Impact on 2010 world rankings: none, the top 10 as follows...

• 1:55.45     Pellegrini, Federica      1988     ITA   
• 1:56.10     Schmitt, Allison          1990     USA   
• 1:56.47     Vollmer, Dana             1987     USA   
• 1:56.92     Muffat, Camille           1989     FRA   
• 1:56.95     Zhu, Qianwei              1990     CHN   
• 1:56.98     Lippok, Silke              1994     GER   
• 1:57.12     Mutina, Agnes             1988     HUN    
• 1:57.13     Scroggy, Morgan         1988     USA    
• 1:57.27     Evans, Blair                 1991     AUS    
• 1:57.27     Heemskerk, Femke     1987     NED    

Impact on all-time world top 10: none

From The Archive:

The only swimmer ever to win the crown  twice is Susie O'Neill, who happens to be in town as an expert commentator for an Aussie broadcaster. O'Neill claimed gold in 1994 and 1998, before going on to win the 2000 Olympic crown at a home Games in Sydney. In the celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of Sydney 2000, O'Neill revealed that she had had trouble sleeping in during her epic week a decade back. She had, unbeknown to many, emerged from those home Games at which she claimed four medals, believing she had let herself and others down somehow when she took silver in the 200m butterfly a touch behind Misty Hyman (USA) in a 200m butterfly final she had entered as defending champion from 1996. While many shared the popular O'Neill's sigh of disappointment over the long 'fly final - a sentiment exacerbated by events at Olympic trials that year, when O'Neill went down in history as the woman who finally cracked American Mary T Meagher's 19-year-old world record - few saw the Australian's Sydney 2000 result as anything other than fantastic. Perhaps O'Neill will too, having realised through a therapeutic interview with Nicole Jeffery of The Australian and a shovelful of complimentary coverage of the 10th anniversary of a very fine Olympic campaign indeed. Evidence of O'Neill's continued popularity can be found in the annual Australia Team handbooks, awash as they are with young athletes who list the lady who paved the way past Mary T as inspirational.