Proud breaks 50m Free Games record in day five heats

Ben Proud made a successful return to the pool breaking the 50m Freestyle Commonwealth Games record in the day five heats.

Proud, who has had a turbulent games after a disqualification on day one and a silver medal in the 4x 100m relay on day two, broke his own record from Glasgow by 0.3 of a second in 21.45.

The Plymouth Leander swimmer said: “Before the race I was being a bit reserved, but as soon as I hit the water I knew I was safe.

“I just ticked over. I didn’t hold but, but it is the morning swim and I wasn’t pushing or putting in any emotions.

“With the first race there is always those nerves. This morning I was constantly listening to the starting signal, seeing how long or short it was.

“It was a nice relaxed swim, so hopefully tonight when I come back I can push on a little bit.”

Plymouth teammate and Gold Coast roommate, Tom Fannon, also progressed to the semi-finals in 22.12. The pair will be joined by Edinburgh University’s David Cumberlidge who posted 22.25 in the same heat.

Loughborough’s Luke Greenbank came second in his 200m Backstroke heat in 1:58.54, his strongest event. He qualifies fourth place overall for the final, which takes place later today at 10.37am BST.

In the 50m Backstroke, Anna Maine (Woking SC) did enough to progress to the semi-finals with a 14th place finish in 29.29.

Laura Stephens and Emily Large did enough to book a place in the 200m Butterfly final in seventh (2:11.18) and eighth (2:11.35) place respectively. The final is due to start at 12.28 BST).

Seven medals up for grabs in day five finals

The action starts from 10.30am BST today. As well as the 200m Backstroke and 200m Butterfly events, Adam Peaty and James Wilby in the 50m Breaststroke final (12.07 BST) and Sarah Vasey in the 100m Breaststroke final (12.12 BST).

Holly Hibbott features in the 800m Freestyle final (10.43 BST), Anna Hopkin competes in the 100m Freestyle (12.44 BST) and James Guy and Jacob Peters in the 100m Butterfly final (12.59 BST).