Commonwealth Games swimming hit by bizarre delay after part of pool breaks

Ramsay-Peaty’s heat was temporarily halted as he was on the blocks when a lane divider broke off, requiring an official to strip to the waist and enter the pool to reconnect it.

Ramsay-Peaty duly wasted no time in recording the fastest time of the morning, 59.46 seconds, with only two rivals, Australia’s Sam Williamson and Filip Nowacki of Jersey, also finishing in under a minute.

The three-time Olympic champion is taking part in his fourth Commonwealth Games having clinched his first medals as a 19-year-old in Glasgow in 2014.

Since then he has become a fixture of the gossip columns after marrying Holly Ramsay, daughter of celebrity chef Gordon, in December last year, and experiencing a rift with the majority of his family.

Ramsay-Peaty has described these Games as a “full circle moment” as he looks to reignite his career. A silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024 helped him refocus after a difficult 2023 in which he withdrew from a series of events in order to focus on mental health concerns.

His win in the 100m in 2014 began eight years of almost total dominance in the event. That streak came to an end in dramatic fashion in Birmingham four years ago when he trailed home in a shock fourth place in the event.

Ramsay-Peaty, who is due to return for his semi-final on Friday evening, told TNT Sports: “Job done, really. We’ve got a busy two weeks coming up, so we’re reserving energy where we can.

“Last time I was here, I was very young. We barely had any world records to my name, or known world records to my name, so it’s been a very long journey.”