Shayna Jack celebrated her return with a world championships gold medal in the all-conquering 4x100m relay team as Elijah Winnington became the second-fastest Australian ever in the 400m freestyle.
Elijah Winnington has powered to his first global gold while the all-conquering 4x100m relay women won again to give Australia the perfect flying start to the world swimming championships.
A superb launchpad for the Dolphins also saw Kyle Chalmers deliver an anchor leg masterpiece in the men’s 4x100m, enabling his teammates William Yang, Matthew Temple and Jack Cartwright to celebrate the most unlikely silver behind a dominant US quartet. “It’s incredible. I was really relaxed, I’m just trying to enjoy this experience and that definitely helps,” the ecstatic Winnington said.“In the last call room, I’ve heard the noise, the MC’s voice and it was a total boost for me.Last year Winnington, who’s suffered from nerves before, was left crestfallen after going into the Olympics with high hopes but finishing only seventh in the final.
Winnington led through the first half of the race before Martens controlled the next two lengths, which only prompted a blistering finish from the Aussie who powered down the final stretch in just 26.5 seconds while the German faded badly.