our years after being disqualified in the 50m butterfly on the last day commonwealth gamesBen Proud sealed England’s first swimming gold from Birmingham 2022.
The London-born 27-year-old had a much better start than he had in the event at the World Championships in Budapest earlier this summer, where he finished seventh.
At Sandwell Aquatics Center he led from start to finish to get the touch in a Games record 22.81 seconds.
After winning gold, he said: “Eight years ago I won this competition. For four years I felt like it was being taken from me. Now I have come in and I have the record of the Games.
“It’s been a tough one. And this is for everyone who has helped me on my journey. It might just be another medal, but it’s very special to me.”
Proud was the form athlete who started the race after dominating the heats and winning world gold in the 50m freestyle at the World Championships in Budapest. He has a chance at a second individual gold in that discipline later in these Games.
Team-mate Imogen Clark came close to taking two gold medals in the space of a few minutes as she was overhauled for much of the 50m butterfly by pre-race favorite Lara van Niekerk in the last few strokes alone.
Her silver was still a national record, coming nine years after she had to be rescued from the bottom of the pool after a seizure. She defied the advice of both doctors and her mother to keep swimming and must take two tablets a day to keep the seizures at bay.
After her silver, she said, “I can’t get much closer. What a breed. I’ve never experienced anything like this. It was great to see Ben win and hear the crowd.”
The men’s 200m freestyle was a repeat of the Olympic final when British teammates Tom Dean and Duncan Scott competed against each other as they had done at the Tokyo Olympics.
In Japan, Dean had a lead, but in a role reversal, the English swimmer was outdone by his Scottish rival when they completed another high-profile one-two.