Kai Taylor, the son of Australian swimming great Hayley Lewis, has executed a perfect plan to blow his rivals in Commonwealth Games 200m freestyle final.
The 22-year-old’s victory was a huge surprise, leading from the lane 1 (almost unnoticed by his rivals) and prevailing in 1:45.22.
While the rivals may not have realised he was out in front — and, at one stage, under world-record pace — mum and his famous coach Dean Boxall certainly did.
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“Mum is losing her mind in the airs and understandably,” star Channel 7 commentator Giaan Rooney said.
“That is an extraordinary swim, led from start to finish. Out hard, held on.”
Taylor 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.
Commentator Annie Williams said on Seven: “That was one of the gutsiest performances. To stand up at the blocks and say I’m going to take this one out that hard and see what I’ve got takes real grit.”
Taylor’s gold was Australia’s 29th of the swimming program — a new record — which later would rise to a whopping 35.
“Honestly I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, I’m just over the moon,” Taylor said.
Swimming legend Ariarne Titmus asked: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone take it out from lane 1 and be so incredibly gutsy. What was going through your mind before the final tonight?”
Taylor said it was a strategy planned with Boxall knowing no one in the middle of the pool would see him.
“I just went out and look I really paid the price on that last 50, I was digging so deep,” he said.
“I’m really happy. I’m so stoked for Harry (Turner) as well. He did amazing.”
Taylor said his first individual gold was “amazing”.
“I’ve worked extremely hard this year and I’ve improved a lot. I’m really happy with this swim,” he said.
Later, Seven presenters Johanna Griggs and Matt White said it was a perfect plan and expertly executed.
“Well that really was one of the absolute highlights of what has been a week full of them. (It) really was something exceptional, wasn’t it?” Griggs said on Seven.
White said: “I reckon the story will come out about that, about what they planned … It was absolutely planned and Dean Boxall doesn’t give much away, but when you watch enough of Dean Boxall in the stands and see how he operates, when he came down and he gave the arm up and pointed towards Kai Taylor, you knew that they had a plan, it was put in place, it was activated and executed.”
Griggs: “And it absolutely worked.”
Lewis, 52, is a swimming legend for Australia, who also made her mark in the Commonwealth Games back in the early 1990s.
The former world champion won five gold medals and one bronze medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games when she was just 15 years old and won another two golds and two silvers in the 1994 Comm Games.
Lewis also won a silver medal in the 800-metre freestyle in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, as well as an Olympic bronze in the 400m freestyle that year.
