Roanne goes close again with 31.32s

Singapore swimmer Roanne Ho came close to breaking her national record again when she clocked 31.32 seconds to finish eighth in the women's 50m breaststroke final at the Commonwealth Games on Friday. 

Ho was aiming to lower the mark at the Optus Aquatic Centre on the Gold Coast. She had set the national record of 31.29sec at last year's SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, when she retained the gold medal in the event. 

The 25-year-old, who had not expected to qualify for the final on the Gold Coast, had clocked 31.31sec in the semis and 31.61 in the heats on Thursday.

Friday's final was won by England's Sarah Vasey, whose 30.60sec effort was enough to pip Jamaica's Alia Atkinson (30.76) and Australia's Leiston Pickett (30.78) in a tight finish.

Meanwhile, another Singapore swimmer, Quah Ting Wen, clocked 26.25sec and placed seventh in her women’s 50m freestyle semi-finals the same night. Overall, she was 14th among 16 swimmers and did not qualify for Saturday’s final.

Quah had clocked 26.22sec in the heats on Friday morning. Her national record in this event is 25.27sec.

Her next events are the women's 50m butterfly heats on Saturday morning and the women's 100m freestyle heats on Sunday morning, when Ho will also be taking part in the women's 100m breaststroke heats.

Darren Lim, the other Singapore swimmer at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, will be taking part in the men's 100m freestyle heats on Saturday morning.