Glasgow's Fastest Night: Eseme Runs 9.83 as a New Guard Rises in the Pool
A Games-record 100m, a Kiwi sprint breakthrough and a changing of the guard in the men's 100m freestyle made Day 5 in Glasgow the best night of these Commonwealth Games so far.
Two years out from LA28, Tuesday night in Glasgow offered the clearest look yet at who might own the sprints — on the track and in the pool — when the Olympics come to Los Angeles.
A Games record in the rain
On a soaked track at Scotstoun, Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme stormed to men's 100m gold in 9.83 seconds — a Commonwealth Games record, taking down a mark that had stood since Ato Boldon in 1998. Australia's Lachlan Kennedy took silver in 9.85, with Nigeria's Kanyinsola Ajayi third in 9.90. It was Cameroon's first-ever podium in the event at these Games, and Eseme becomes the third African champion in the men's 100m here after Akani Simbine and Ferdinand Omanyala.
"I didn't want the weather to become an obstacle because everyone was competing in the same conditions," Eseme said afterward, per beIN Sports.
In the women's final, New Zealand's Zoe Hobbs won gold in 10.93, holding off England's Amy Hunt, who ran 10.98 for silver in what she called "very Glaswegian conditions." Hunt, last year's world 200m silver medallist, came within five hundredths of gold; teammate Imani-Lara Lansiquot was fourth in 11.02.
Southam dethrones Chalmers
The pool produced the night's biggest changing-of-the-guard moment. Flynn Southam, 21, upset countryman and 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers to win the men's 100m freestyle in 47.13, splitting 22.62 at the turn and holding on. Wales' Matt Richards took silver in 47.64, with the defending champion Chalmers third in 47.74.
"I back myself in a race… and that was a bloody good one," said Southam, who had already anchored Australia's 4x100m freestyle relay to gold in a 47.09 split on opening night. For Chalmers, the bronze completes a full set of Commonwealth medals — his career haul now stands at nine golds, two silvers and one bronze.
With the swimming programme wrapping its record 56-event run, Glasgow has done its job: the road to Los Angeles suddenly has several new names on it.