Lani Pallister cemented herself as a gold favourite in the women’s 400m freestyle heat as Australia dominated in the pool in the first day of the Commonwealth Games.
The Sydney swimmer blitzed the competition in Glasgow with the second fastest heat time of 4.06.88 despite taking her foot off the gas in the swims’ closing stretch.
She fell just shy of the top qualifying time, held by New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather with 4.06.42.
Pallister will be joined by fellow Aussies Jenna Forrester (4:07.34) and Amelia Weber (4:08.12) in the final.
While WA’s Iona Anderson has jetted her way into the women’s backstroke final, finishing her heat with a 2.11.08 time - she will be joined by top qualifier Hannah Fredericks and Forrester.
The competition saw slight delays after a lane rope broke and officials needed to get their kit off and jump in to fix it.
As the heats got back underway, fellow Sandgroper Alex Saffy punched his ticket into the men’s 100m butterfly finals with a sub-minute 59.49, where he will meet Aussie Col Pearse.
West Aussie Shayna Jack helped lead Australia’s women’s 4x100m freestyle relay squad, that despite featuring a pair of butterfly swimmers, never looked in doubt - blitzing the second heat with a 3.37.95 time. The men’s followed suit, edging out England with a 3.14.53 finish.
As Australia’s best bet to nab an early medal, Pallister knew she could take it easy in the morning heats.
“It was good. I just wanted to get in, feel it out, see how I felt in the water, and I’m pretty excited to go into tonight,” she said.
“Australia is quite fortunate when we’re the strongest nation in the Commonwealth for swimming, that you can play with heat swims a little bit, and I guess attack different parts of the race.
“Also, in a position where I’m fifth fastest ever, I get to have a little bit of an easier swim in the morning.”
The 24-year-old is gunning to fill a pair of big shoes, her mother Janelle Elford won gold in the relay at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Not to mention she is the goddaughter of legend Dawn Fraser.
Despite the inherent pressure, Pallister is looking to carve out her own legacy.
“It’s really special . . . they actually had a photo of my mum in the opening ceremony outfit (1990) on the wall, which was really cool,” she said.
“So having the family legacy, and obviously with Dawn as well, being a part of that, and hopefully continuing in their footsteps, it’s really special.
“But also being able to pave my own way and do what I want with my career.”
-With AP
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