Kyle Chalmers has flown to an emotional landmark triumph in his farewell Commonwealth Games race, splashing and dashing to the Glasgow 50m butterfly crown that’s earned him an amazing 10th gold.

But Port Lincoln’s ‘Big Tuna’, resigned to the end of his domestic 100m freestyle reign after his defeat by Flynn Southam 24 hours earlier, had to share his glorious moment with compatriot Ben Armbruster as they both hit the wall together in a Games record 22.73 seconds.

After his grievous disappointment in the 100m free, Chalmers responded as only the great champions can by also downing his fellow big gun and ‘superdad’ Cam McEvoy, who took bronze in yet another Australian 1-2-3 in the Tollcross pool.

The amazing denouement for the 13th Games medal of the 28-year-old’s career finally propelled Chalmers past the all-time Australian men’s Games record of 10 golds and one silver, won by Ian Thorpe.

The landmark milestone came as Australia’s all-conquering team stormed to a new record tally of golds at a single Games, surpassing the previous mark of 28 at Gold Coast 2018.

Queensland speedster Meg Harris thrust herself to the verge of joining the elite band of swimmers who’ve scooped six golds at a Commonwealth Games by leading another green-and-gold sweep in the 50m freestyle.

The 24-year-old, who sensationally beat Mollie O’Callaghan in the blue riband 100m free, completed a sprint freestyle double to capture her fifth crown in all.

She clocked 24.23, Alex Perkins took silver in 24.53 to go with her four golds, and Shayna Jack, in her final international race, got bronze in 24.57.

With Kai Taylor earning a shock 200m freestyle gold, it promised to be yet another expensive evening for billionaire benefactor Gina Rinehart, who’ll have to lavish more bumper medal bonuses on the squad after already forking out over $1 million.

Kai Taylor recorded a glorious win from the inside lane in Glasgow. Photo: AAP 

The victory of Taylor from lane one was a huge surprise as the 22-year-old, son of star Hayley Lewis, was able to lurk while leading from the inside almost unnoticed, prevailing in 1:45.22.

He finished handily ahead of England’s Olympic star James Guy and Welsh former world champ Matt Richards, who shared the silver exactly half-a-second behind.

Australian riser Harry Turner, silver medallist in the 200m butterfly, was fourth in 1:45.93, but Sam Short’s hopes of four individual freestyle golds ended as he finished just a hundredth of a second behind.

Taylor’s triumph came 36 years since mum Hayley had her extraordinary breakthrough Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1990 when she scooped five golds and a bronze at the age of just 15.

Team Australia celebrate winning gold at the Commonwealth Games after beating England. Photo: AAP 

3×3 gold

Australia’s wheelchair men have won back-to-back 3×3 gold medals, pulling away from England in their Commonwealth Games final in Glasgow.

The women also easily beat Uganda 21-11 for a second gold medal to end the tournament, despite Emma Clarke not playing because of injury.

But the men were again denied by England, losing 19-17 in the final, and the wheelchair women won a bronze, with a 19-17 win over Canada.

Eithen Leard again starred with 10 points as Australia ran out 19-13 winners in the men’s wheelchair final.

Australia’s bid for an unprecedented golden Games sweep in 3×3 was denied when the wheelchair women lost their semi-final.

Australia were the only country with all four teams in the semis and the wombat Women were the last to play.

A boisterous home crowd helped power Scotland to a 15-12 win over Australia and will now take on Uganda for gold.

Australia’s men had set the tone at the SEC, kicking off three straight semi-final wins with a 21-14 victory over Scotland in the able-bodied event.

Three-time Paralympian Tom O’Neill-Thorne then led the charge in the wheelchair semi-final against Scotland, scoring eight points in a 19-12 win.

Amy Atwell picked up where the nation’s men left off and continued her red-hot form by shooting 13 points to help the Gangurru women to a 21-8 win over Jamaica.

Australia’s bid for three gold medals comes after their three-medal haul in the sport’s Games debut in Birmingham.

The Wombat men won the wheelchair title by defeating Canada in 2022, with Australia taking silver in the men’s able-bodied and the women’s wheelchair tournaments.

The Gangurru women defeated New Zealand for bronze in Birmingham.

It was an emotional medal ceremony for Eileen Cikamatana, who won another Commonwealth Games gold. Photo: AAP

Tears flow as weightlifter takes gold

Australian weightlifter Eileen Cikamatana struggled through days when she wanted to give up and “be a baby in my mum’s arm”.

But the 26-year-old has found consolation after her Paris Olympics heartbreak, bouncing back in Glasgow to win her third Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Cikamatana was a class above in the women’s 86kg event, nailing a 108kg snatch and a 140kg clean and jerk for a Games record total of 248kg.

England’s silver medallist Madias Ngake lifted a total of 239kg, while Canadian teenager Rose Beaudoin (230kg tootal) took bronze.

In tears after narrowly missing out on a bronze medal when she finished fourth on Olympic debut at Paris 2024, Cikamatana was in tears again in Glasgow – just of a different kind.

“Mission accomplished. I came for one thing and I got that one thing,” Cikamatana beamed.

“I had days that I just wanted to go back home and be a baby with my mum’s arm.

“I had days that I wanted to exit the door, but I’m glad I pulled that left leg back in.

“The original plan was to finish off after the Paris Olympics, but we (with coach Paul Coffa) didn’t get what we wanted.

Cikamatana is the third female weightlifter in history to achieve the Commonwealth Games feat of three titles in a row, joining India’s Mirabai Chanu (women’s 48kg) and Canadian weightlifter Maude Charron (63kg) after they also won gold in Glasgow.

The 26-year-old has dominated her weightlifting categories since winning gold for Fiji in the 90kg event at the 2018 Gold Coast Games.

Cikamatana then switched allegiance to Australia the following year due to a local dispute with Fiji’s weightlifting governing body, and to keep working with coach Coffa and his wife Lily.

Taking out the 87kg title at the 2022 Birmingham edition, Cikamatana is also the first woman to win Commonwealth Games gold for two countries in an individual sport.

Cikamatana is adamant on making the podium at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but first has pressing matters to attend to.

“I’m going to go have some cake, because I’ve been wanting to have them ever since I got here,” Cikamatana said.

“Cheesecake, obviously. I’m a cheesecake girl.”

Ngake took silver in a remarkable career comeback.

The Cameroon-born English weightlifter was belatedly awarded a bronze medal from the 2012 Olympics after multiple rivals returned positive drugs tests.

But the medal was sent to Cameroon and she has never seen it.

Ngake – fearing persecution in her birth country because of her sexuality – absconded from the  Cameroon team during the London Games.

Living homeless in London before working as a cleaner for 10 years, Ngake rekindled her desire to compete after a chance meeting with her former Cameroonian coach during the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The 34-year-old – sporting sparkling red hair that matched her England uniform – threatened to pull off an upset after setting a Games snatch record of 111kg, but fell short of setting a clean-and-jerk benchmark of 135kg.

Cikamtana wins Australia’s third weightlifting medal in Glasgow, with youngster Ollie Saxton emulating his father and four-time Games medallist Andrew by winning bronze in the men’s 94kg event earlier on day six of the Games.

Saxton had logged a total of 336 kilograms, pulling off a 156kg snatch and a 180kg clean-and-jerk lift.

Saxton finished on the podium 40 years after his father Andrew won 100kg sub-heavyweight bronze for England at his debut Games in Edinburgh.

—AAP