2022 COMMONWEALTH GAMES
- Friday, July 29 – Wednesday, August 3, 2022
- Birmingham, England
- Sandwell Aquatic Centre
- Start times
- Preparation: 10:30 a.m. local / 5:30 a.m. ET
- Finals: 7:00 p.m. local time / 2:00 p.m. ET
- LCM (50m)
- Meet the center
- Event schedule
- Login list (PDF)
- Live Results
COMPLETE 4×200 FREE RELAY RESULTS
Australian Quartet Maddie Wilson, Kiah MelvertonMollie O’Callaghanand Ariarne Titmus in the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay, she ran with a gold medal and set a new world record with 7:39.29. They beat the Canadians who won the silver medal by 12.69 seconds.
They were the first team to break the 7:40 barrier, beating China’s Tokyo Games record of 7:40.33 by more than a second.
Summer McIntosh took the lead in the first exchange, leading the Canadians in 1:55.24. Melverton, Australia’s second swimmer, caught the Canadians and led the Australians by about a second and a half by the end of the leg. O’Callaghan extended the lead and Titmus had the fastest split of all time in 1:52.82.
Split Comparison – Australia v. Commonwealth Games China at the Tokyo Olympics
| Australia – 2022 Commonwealth Games | divide | China – 2020 Tokyo Olympics | divide |
| Maddie Wilson | 1:56.27 | Yang Junxuan | 1:54.37 |
| Kiah Melverton | 1:55.40 | Tang Muhan | 1:55.00 |
| Mollie O’Callaghan | 1:54.80 | Zhang Yufei | 1:55.66 |
| Ariarne Titmus | 1:52.82 | Li Bingje | 1:55.30 |
When Titmus came in, the Australians were 1.44 seconds off the World Record. But by the time he got to 100, he was just 38 seconds back and on the straight at the final corner.
His 1:52.82 is the fastest ever by a significant margin, and he is the only one to break 1:53.
Top 5 Relay Splits of All Time Women’s 4×200 Free Relay:
- Ariarne TitmusAustralia – 1:52.82 (2022)
- Federica PellegriniItaly – 1:53.45 (2009)
- Sarah Syostsrom, Sweden – 1:53.64 (2014)
- Katie LedeckyUnited States of America – 1:53.67 (2022)
- Katie LedeckyUnited States of America – 1:53.74 (2016)
Titmus’ split is the crucial difference here for the Australian team. They tend to go with him, as they did in Tokyo, where he clocked 1:54.51 over the 1:53.50 he went to win individual gold.
Another big difference is the addition of Mollie O’Callaghan. O’Callaghan finished the Tokyo prelims relay in a world junior record time of 1:55.11, but the coaches decided to drop him from the final relay. This decision cost them dearly as they could have used him as a lead and had Titmus anchor or given him a head start. They beat the Americans to win Olympic bronze.
The Australians have a lot of depth in the 200 freestyle and had world record potential for a while, and finally managed to put all the pieces together in Birmingham. Earlier in the meet, they swept the podium in the women’s 200 free, a harbinger of what’s to come.
