Leisel Jones improved her world record in the 100m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games yesterday.
The 20-year-old Australian clocked 1 minute, 05.09 seconds to win her third breaststroke gold medal at this meet.
Jones set the previous mark of 1:05:71 in the same pool at the Melbourne Aquatic Center on Feb. 3 at the national Commonwealth Games trials.
PHOTO: AFP
"I'm in absolute shock," said Jones. "I cannot believe it. It is absolutely amazing -- I was so nervous beforehand I had [stomach] cramps."
Jones also holds the record in the 200m breaststroke. She was a surprise winner in the 50m breaststroke in her first final of the Commonwealth Games program and added the 200 title on Saturday night.
Jones said was unhappy with her 200m time, and knew she would feel pressure from teammate Jade Edmistone, who holds the world record at 50 breaststroke.
She was almost a half second under world-record pace when she turned and held it together on the second length.
"I was dying a fair bit, in every stroke I was pulling, and they were getting louder and louder -- the crowd has a lot to do with it," Jones said.
Jung on target
India's Samaresh Jung remained on target for eight medals at the Commonwealth Games, collecting his third gold medal and fourth overall in shooting.
Australian race walkers finished 1-2-3 in both of yesterday's 20-kilometer events, with the Saville sisters -- Jane and Natalie -- taking gold and silver before Olympic bronze medalist Nathan Deakes led the men's sweep.
With 40 gold medals on day five of competition and Australians guaranteed of at least one more -- sisters Rachael and Natalie Grinham were meeting in the squash final -- the race walkers gave the hosts a flying start.
All of Australia's medals, however, might be overshadowed in a 10-second blur if Asafa Powell is at his best.
The 23-year-old Jamaican sprinter, who holds the 100m world record at 9.77 seconds, showed glimpses in two bursts in the heats that a sub-10 second dash was a distinct possibility.
The semifinals and final of the women's and men's 100s were set for last night at the 85,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground arena.
On the range, Jung teamed with Jaspal Rana to win the men's 25m center-fire pistol event.
Joining Jung in the multiple gold-winners' list were three more Indians -- Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang and Tejaswini Sawant -- as India extended its supremacy at the ranges, increasing its gold tally to nine.
Lauryn Mark and Natala Rahman combined to win the women's skeet pairs, giving Australia its 31st gold medal of the March 15-26 event.
Cyprus won its first gold medal of the games via George Achilleos and Antonis Nikolaides in the men's skeet pairs.
Singapore also won its first gold medal of the games when its women's team won the table tennis competition in straight matches over Australia.
Ahead of the night session, England was next behind Australia with 13 gold.
In weightlifting, Jeane Lassen broke a Commonwealth Games record in the women's 69kg class to give Canada its fifth gold of the games. Lassen lifted 132kg in the clean and jerk, two kilograms better than the mark Cameroon's Madeleine Yamechi set at the 2002 games.
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