Adlington takes bronze,Round One to Aussies

England’s Rebecca Adlington,one of the biggest stars at the Games,made her debut in women’s 200m free and finished third as Kylie Palmer comfortably took gold ahead of Welshwoman Jazmin Carlin in the first final of the evening. Ryan Napoleon overcame an upset stomach and nearly pulled off a shocker to make it two for the Aussies,but for his namesake,Canada’s Ryan Cochrane,who dug deep in the last 25m to win 400m free gold.

The third final was one of the most eagerly awaited race,with Aussie Emily Seebohm set to launch an eight gold medal bid with the 200m individual medley. She was on course for almost half of the race but a pathetic breaststroke performance saw her finishing one body length behind compatriot Alicia Coutts. Seebohm may well win the remaining seven,but she won’t be able to match Michael Phelps.

Chad le Clos opened South Africa’s gold account by winning the 200 fly,but the team lost their 4×100 free relay title to Australia in one of the most pulsating races of the evening.

The biggest round of applause though went to Team India,who finished sixth. That aside,it was a disappointing day for hosts with Rehan Poncha failing to go past the 200 fly qualifying.

But then,he can take solace in the fact that bigger reputations dissolved in the pool,with fastest man behind Phelps this year,Nick D’Arcy of Australia ,also failing to go past the heats.