Records tumble in crazy cycling qualifying session
Whether it's a tribute to Anna Meares or just a coincidence remains to be seen, but Commonwealth Games cyclists are dropping records left, right and centre at the velodrome named in her honour.
It hasn't been any more chaotic than in the women's 3000m individual pursuit qualifying session at the Anna Meares Velodrome on Friday afternoon.
The track is so fast that four riders went under the Commonwealth Games record of 3:29.038, set by England's Joanna Roswell at Glasgow 2014.
Three were Australian, but the top honour ended up in the hands of Scotland's Katie Archibald.
The first woman to set a new mark was Annette Edmondson in the third heat.
Well clear of Welsh opponent Hayley Jones, Edmondson finished in a time of 3:27.255 at an average speed of 52.110 kilometres per hour.
Nobody came close to the Australian's mark until compatriot Rebecca Wiasak in the ninth heat.
Wiasak shaved more than a second off Edmondson's time, finishing in 3:25.936 at an average speed of 52.443km/h.
The last of the 11 heats proved the fastest.
If you thought Wiasak's time was impressive, think again. Archibald finished in an incredible 3:24.119 at an average speed of 52.910km/h.
Her competition in the heat was Australia's Ashlee Ankudinoff, who was relatively off the pace... and still came under the Comm Games record.
Ankudinoff finished in fourth place with a time of 3:27.624 at an average speed of 52.017km/h.
The final results saw Archibald and Wiasak qualify for tonight's race for the gold medal, while Edmondson and Ankudinoff will compete in an all-Australian battle for bronze.
"We're all in great form, the girls showed that last night," Wiasak said. "I know we're in great shape ... I'm pretty stoked with that."
Earlier Stephanie Morton was made to work for top spot in qualifying as she sets her sights on defending her Commonwealth Games sprint title on day two at the track.
The Australian shot to No.1 position ahead of Friday night's four-stage finals sequence, also breaking a new Games record to do so.
Fresh off team sprint gold alongside Kaarle McCulloch on day one, Morton clocked 10.524 seconds to beat her own Commonwealth record of 10.984 set four years ago on her way to gold in Glasgow.
That mark had earlier been beaten by three others, including McCulloch, in another sign of how fast Anna Meares Velodrome is proving.
McCulloch finished fourth fastest, with Canada's Lauriane Genest and New Zealand's Natasha Hansen second and third respectively.
Aussie Sam Welsford then broke the Games record for the men's 4000m pursuit, clocking 4:13.595, before John Archibald bettered him with a 4:13.068.
Englishman Charlie Tanterfield lit up the latter stages of the day session when he crushed the 4000m individual pursuit Games record - motoring into a gold medal showdown with Archibald courtesy of a 4:11.455.
Jordan Kerby (4th fastest) pipped compatriot Welsford to finish the best of the Australians and qualify for the bronze medal ride.
with AAP
