A parochial crowd in Sydney raised the roof as Australia battled the United States in the pool at the gimmicky, enjoyable event
), the world championships in Budapest in June and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham – expectations were modest. But it took only a few minutes on Saturday night for a parochial crowd to raise the roof and reaffirm the nation’s love for live swimming.Duel in the Pool may be a gimmicky, made-for-television product, full of delightfully strange rules, a world away from the staid seriousness of a major international titles.
The women’s 3x50m butterfly “skins” event was another atypical format. A field of six competitors was slimmed to four after the first race, and then again to two after the second . McKeon looked unusually slow in the final, up against American Beata Nelson. But it had all been a ruse – Australia played its “double dip”, meaning the pair had to swim one final 50m lap to decide the race, which McKeon won comfortably.
Yet another odd event was the men’s mystery 200m individual medley. Each swimmer was only told the stroke order just before the race, and each had their own, random order. Australia’s Se-Bom Lee built an early lead but was always going to be vulnerable with breaststroke as his last leg. He battled valiantly but was mowed down by American Trenton Julian, swimming butterfly, in the final metres.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Last-second try secures minor premiership for Penrith in pulsating clash with South SydneyAfter one of the games of the season, a try to Liam Martin in the final seconds has earned Penrith a win over South Sydney and their second minor premiership in three years.
Read more »
Cocaine back on the menu: usage spiked when Sydney reopenedSydney has reaffirmed its status as the cocaine capital of Australia, with arrests and wastewater traces spiking since lockdowns ended and the city returned to life.
Read more »
NRL should play grand final in Sydney without ransom demandThe NRL should be staging the grand final in Sydney as a thank you to the government for the money it invested in a stadium and all those centres of excellence.
Read more »
NRL grand final in Sydney for 2022 - but tensions remain between V'landys, PerrottetThe NRL grand final will stay in Sydney for 2022 but it&x27;s back to the negotiating table next year - and ARLC chairman Peter V&x27;landys is making no bones about the parlous state of the relationship between the game and the NSW government.
Read more »
Coal, oil and gas ads could soon be banned from hundreds of Sydney buildingsThe City of Sydney will consider becoming the first Australian jurisdiction to ban fossil fuel advertising on council-run properties and infrastructure, citing health and environmental reasons.
Read more »