Confident Greenbank looking forward to ‘quite special’ Commonwealth Games final

Luke Greenbank is looking forward to a ‘quite special’ Commonwealth Games 200m Backstroke final against his Team England colleagues Brodie Williams and Jay Lelliott.

Olympic bronze medallist Greenbank qualified quickest for Tuesday’s final following the morning’s heats, with Williams second fastest and Lelliott eighth.

Greenbank admitted he was disappointed with his fifth-place finish in the 100m Backstroke final – where Williams won a silver medal – but he is in a positive mood ahead of the 200m showdown.

He said: “I am feeling confident. 

“I wanted to get a good swim out this morning. I think there is a bit more in there but I like to see where I am and flush it all out in the morning.

“Especially after the 100m, I was a bit disappointed but I was probably overreacting as it wasn’t too far off my season’s best.

“It always happens after I’ve had a bad swim, I’m down for a couple hours or days. Looking back on the bigger picture that was pretty good.

“This morning, I was comfortable with the race tactics and much more comfortable with the 200.”

“It would be amazing to win a medal in Birmingham.

“It’s going to be really loud tonight because me and Brodie are in the middle lanes and Jay’s over in lane eight.

“It is going to be really quite special and hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”

Laura and Holly in the final

All of Team England’s swimmers in today’s heats session progressed to the next stages of their respective races.

In the Women’s 200m Butterfly, Laura Stephens – in her first race of Birmingham 2022 – qualified second fastest for the final in a time of 2:09.60.

That was 1.98 seconds adrift of Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers’ time of 2:07.62.

Holly Hibbott also booked her place in the final, qualifying fourth fastest after touching home in 2:10.49.

The Mixed Medley Relay team of Alicia Wilson, Greg Butler, Ed Mildred and Abbie Wood won their heat and finished second overall behind Australia.

They clocked 3:51.08 with Wilson opening up the backstroke leg in 1:02.93, Butler finishing in 1:01.45 for the breaststroke, Mildred touching in 51.58 for butterfly while Wood brought the team home in 55.12 for the freestyle.

English trio book semi spots

In the ‘splash and dash’ Men’s 50m Freestyle heats, Lewis Burras, Ben Proud and Adam Barrett all booked a place in tonight’s semi-finals.

Burras was the quickest qualifier in 22.09, with Proud clocking third fastest in 22.44.

Barrett was 13th overall in a time of 22.89.

Burras reflected on his performance and said: “It’s a step in the right direction. 

“After the 100m Freestyle semi [in which he finished sixth on Sunday] I had some reflecting to do.

“I had to look in the mirror and ask why I feel this way and what led to this.

“Yes, I am tired but I am tired doing something that I love and not many people can say that.

“To come here and do this 50m Freestyle is another obstacle in what has been a great season.”

Proud added: “This is what the whole thing’s about. 

“In the butterfly, it was about reclaiming my title after a few years.

“The freestyle has been with me the whole time. I work a lot harder for it, I put in work every single day.

“This is something I am going to do to prove that I have consistently been at the top for eight years.”

Luke and Toby progress

Luke Turley won his Men’s 1500m Freestyle heat to reach Wednesday night’s final – where he will be joined by his team-mate Toby Robinson.

Turley finished the gruelling 30 lengths of the pool in 15:35.65, while Robinson was faster as he clocked 15:33.59 to take third spot in his heat.

Cox and Hindley go through

Lauren Cox and Isabella Hindley reached the Women’s 50m Backstroke semi-finals.

Cox was sixth in 28.30, while Hindley clocked 29.99 to finish 15th.

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