2022 COMMONWEALTH GAMES
- Friday, July 29 – Wednesday, August 3, 2022
- Birmingham, England
- Sandwell Aquatic Center
- Start Times
- Prelims: 10:30 am local / 5:30 am ET
- Finals: 7:00 pm local / 2:00 pm ET
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Central
- Event Schedule
- Entry List (PDF)
- Live Results
- Day 4 Finals Live Recap
Women’s 50 Fly Finals
- Emma McKeon (AUS), 25.90
- Erin Gallagher (RSA) / Holly Barratt (AUS), 26.05
- –
- Maggie MacNeil (CAN), 26.17
- Alex Perkins (AUS), 26.19
- Harriet Jones (WAL), 26.20
- Helena Gasson (NZL), 26.24
- Katerine Savard (CAN), 26.43
In an unexpected result, it wasn’t Emma McKeon and Maggie MacNeil fighting it out for gold in the 50 fly on day 4 of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. While McKeon did win gold, it was Holly Barratt and Erin Gallagher who got to the wall second, tying for the silver medal in 26.05.
For Gallagher, that’s a new South African record, lowering the mark she set in the semis of 26.17.
Despite having the slowest reaction time in the field (.72) Gallagher was able to power through the field and into the medals. She did the same in the semifinal, where her reaction time was .69.
Before these Games, the 23-year-old Gallagher held record in 26.24, which she set at the 2019 African Games. Over the course of the meet, she’s lowered her record by .19 seconds seconds.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Gallagher also made the final. There, she finished seventh in 26.84. This season, she’d been 26.39 in April. This shows a strong improvement curve over the course through 2022. If she fixes her start, it’s easy to see her lowering her record even more.
The women of South Africa have been on fire in the stroke 50s here in Birmingham. Lara van Niekerk set a Commonwealth Games record in the 50 breast in each round she swam on her way to the gold medal.
