The old and new of Australian swimming were at their brilliant best on Friday as Leisel Jones won yet another Commonwealth Games gold and 15-year-old Yolane Kukla claimed her first. Jones, 25, won the 100 metre breaststroke final to become the first athlete to win two Games events three times in a row following her success in the 200m butterfly on Wednesday.
"Oh really? I didn't know that," Jones said when told of her 'double-treble' achievement. Her surprise is understandable considering the number of medals and world records Jones has racked up since she was first selected for the Australian team at 14. With the 4x100 metre medley relay to come on Saturday, the Olympic 100m breaststroke champion has the opportunity to win her 10th Commonwealth Games gold medal and equal the mark of Australian swimming greats Ian Thorpe and Susie O'Neill.
Like Jones, Kukla was first called up to the team at 14 and at a half-full Dr SP Mukherjee Aquatic Centre she showed why, powering to victory in a tight splash-and-dash 50m freestyle ahead of England's Fran Halsall. The teenager frantically turned to examine the scoreboard after touching the wall to see she had won, reacting with a beaming smile and looking close to tears.