Brodie brilliance as Williams takes Commonwealth Games gold

Brodie Williams took his first individual gold as he claimed the Men’s 200m Backstroke title at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Williams topped the podium, edging out Australia’s Bradley Woodward by 0.01 in an incredibly tight final where England’s Luke Greenbank finished fifth with Jay Lelliott in eighth.

The British Performance Centre swimmer finished with a time of 1:56.40 as he improved on his time from the heats by 1.38.

It was Greenbank who looked the strongest in the early goings however, getting off the blocks quickly to lead after the opening 50m’s.

Greenbank then extended his lead at the halfway stage as Williams begun his climb towards the front.

Williams got stronger and stronger as the race went on as he battled back to take the lead off his England teammate in the final 50m’s.

Australia’s Woodward still had something to say on the matter as he bolted towards the finish line looking to catch the English duo.

Williams fought on though to take the gold and deny the Australian to win England’s fifth gold medal in the pool at this year’s games.

Greenbank was incredibly unlucky not to get himself on the podium, dropping to fifth despite finishing just 0.58 off Williams.

It was South Africa’s Pieter Coetze that ended up taking the bronze with a time of 1:56.77.

Sheffield swimmer Lelliott finished in eighth place, valiantly making the final after overcoming his injury troubles at the start of the season to make this years Games.

‘We will keep fighting together’

On his incredible gold medal win, Williams said he’ll celebrate the moment with his family.

“It’s amazing. It’s the first time my family have watched me race since Covid-19, so it’s a big moment for me and a big moment for my family.

It’s been a breakout games for Williams adding to his silver in the 100m Backstroke from day two with gold this evening and he’s looking forward to the future.

“It’s just given me a lot of confidence, really. I know I can perform on this stage now, and I’ll take that with me [to Paris 2024].”

Williams was seen consoling his teammate Greenbank after the race with the latter gutted to miss out on a place on the podium and Williams shared the moment between the two.

“I just said to him, ‘you are Olympic bronze medallist, mate, don’t worry about it, we will come back stronger, and we will keep fighting together’.”