Angharad Evans shimmers in front of 'Tartan Army' as Commonwealth gold dispels doubts

For history-maker Angharad Evans, becoming the first Scottish woman ever to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal in the 100m Breaststroke in front of the "Tartan Army" in her own words, was a moment that will live with her forever.

Spurred on by a raucous home crowd, the 23-year-old raised Tollcross International Swimming Centre to the rafters in Glasgow on Sunday night as she pipped Aimee Canny of South Africa in a nail-biting finish.

Evans, who was born in Cambridge but swims for Scotland through residency qualification having lived and trained at the University of Stirling in Scotland for over three years, touched in a time of 1:06:07.

The race was too close to call at the halfway point, with Evans sitting in second place, but the Scot split 35.1 on the last 50m, which was the quickest in the field, and allowed her to claim victory. Canny finished just 0.17 seconds slower in second spot.

Evans had recorded the fastest time coming into the meet and is currently ranked first in the world at 1:04.96. She's never had any issue posting electric times, but doing it in the heat of battle when it matters most had proved a stumbling block, especially at the World Championships in Singapore last year where she failed to navigate the prelims.

At Tollcross, she finally overcame that hurdle, even if the winning time wasn't quite what Evans was searching for.

"It's a very special moment, really emotional," she said. "Singapore last year struck some fear in me and I didn't realise how deep-rooted that was until it got closer to the Commonwealth games. All those negative thoughts in my head started to plant seeds of doubt, but when it got to the last five meters of the race, all I did was tell myself 'just give it your all and leave nothing behind'. That's what I did.

"My training has been extremely hard to the point where I'm excited to get on that starting block and showcase my hard work. For the first two years of my career, I didn't have that experience. It was about building that up and remaining consistent. I trust what my body can do and how hard it can be pushed. It's almost as though my training has unlocked a new pain threshold that I didn't know was there, so it's been fun to showcase that this season.

"This crowd really uplifted me and give me the confidence I need. They often talk about how proud they are of us winning gold medals an getting PB's, but I'm immensely proud to have the Tartan Army supporting me here. It's an unreal feeling, even though I wasn't actually too happy with the time. I think there is definitely more to come on that front but racing in an environment like this is completely different, so I couldn't have asked for a better result."

100m butterfly is one to watch for Scotland

For the first time in Commonwealth Games history, Scotland will have three representatives in the Women's 100m Butterfly Final on Monday evening after Keanna Macinnes, Ciara Schlosshan (57.70) and Lucy Grieve (58.17) all progressed from their respective semi-final heats. The talented trio have the Aussies in their sights after Alex Perkins and Brittany Castelluzzo both reigned supreme in qualifying.

For 24-year-old Macinnes, making her third Commonwealth Games appearance, her time of 57.68 was a step in the right direction. "I'm really happy," she grinned. "That's just outside my best time from trials earlier this year. I'm really looking to get down towards the British record which I'm still a bit away from, but there's definitely some things that I can improve from that semi going into the final. Maybe with the home crowd behind me and knowing there's a medal at stake, it could be something special."

There was more good news to follow as Archie Goodburn advanced safely to the Men's 50m Breaststroke Final. The Edinburgh swimmer was seventh fastest in the semis in a time of 27.31, with South Africa's Michael Houlie proving the man they all have to beat after positing the quickest time of 26.61.

Meanwhile, home favourite Katie Shanahan missed out on a podium place in the Women's 100m Backstroke Final after finishing 6th (1:00.88), but still produced an encouraging swim in an event she knew was stacked full of talented opposition.

"I knew I probably wouldn't finish in the medal spots tonight," conceded an upbeat Shanahan. "But it was just nice to compete in another final here. I can take quite a lot out of that swim heading into next season. To get another opportunity to compete in front of my home crowd is such a privilege. The support they have given me has been amazing."

There was an element of disappointment in the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final as Scotland narrowly missed out on bronze to Wales, despite a power-packed late charge from team captain Duncan Scott on the last leg. Australia claimed gold in a Games record time of 7:01.47 with England in second as they finished clear of the field, but an engrossing battle for third had developed with Scott making up an enormous amount of late ground only to come up agonisingly short. Just 1.52 seconds separated the two nations.

Scottish duo Evelyn Davis and Emma Wood both endured mixed fortunes in the Women's 100m Freestyle semi-finals. Davis qualified successfully in a time of 54.33, while Wood was eliminated after finishing sixth (55.39). Top seed Mollie O'Callaghan of Australia was the fastest qualifier in 53.29sec.

In the men's and women's 100m backstroke S9 para finals, home hopefuls Sam Downie and Toni Shaw finished in 6th and 7th respectively.

The most impressive swim of the session came from Cameron McEvoy of Australia in the Men's 50m Freestyle Final as he set a new Games record of 20.97secs.