Drama erupts over 'illegal' act as Aussies win gold at Comm Games

Ian Thorpe has questioned whether England should have been allowed to keep their silver medal in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay at the Commonwealth Games on Monday after an 'illegal' act before the end of the race.

Elijah Winnington, Flynn Southam, Zac Incerti and Mack Horton underlined Australia's depth in the pool by claiming the country's fifth gold from five relays raced in Birmingham.

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Winnington established an early lead before Southam and Incerti handed over to Horton to bring home yet another gold for Australia.

England claimed the silver medal, however eyebrows were raised when anchor swimmer Tom Dean jumped out of the water before the race was officially over.

Dean didn't appear to realise that the final swimmer from Gibraltar was still racing, with the Englishman hopping out of the pool before the event had finished.

Under FINA rules, competitors must remain in the water until everyone has touched the wall, and relay teammates cannot enter the water until the race is officially over.

The Australian women's 4x200m relay team were famously disqualified after winning gold at the world championships in 2001 when they jumped back into the pool in celebration before the race was over.

Aussie legend Thorpe was quick to notice the rule breach on Monday, calling out the England team in commentary for Channel 7.

However officials allowed the English team to keep their silver medal, with Basil Zempilas suggesting "maybe a blind eye was turned".

Kyle Chalmers and Emma McKeon claim more gold at Games

The relay triumph was one of five Australian gold medals at the Birmingham pool on Monday night.

Emma McKeon collected her fourth gold of the Games and 12th of her storied career.

On Sunday she became the most successful athlete in Commonwealth Games history when she won her 11th gold.

Kaylee McKeown won her second gold plus a silver, while para-swimmer Matthew Levy also triumph.

And Kyle Chalmers, a day after saying he felt like flying home when overwhelmed by media scrutiny, led from start to finish in a display of brute power in 100m freestyle final.

"It's a bittersweet feeling for me," he said.

"Instead of enjoying the moment, it's almost a big sense of relief to be honest with you.

"I just hope no-one has to go through what I have had to go through over the last 48 hours.

"This last 48 hours has been hell. It has been an emotional rollercoaster.

"Even speaking to my coach before the race, I almost started crying and I'm not an emotional person."

In that 48-hour time span, Chalmers raged at reporting about his relationships with fellow high-profile swimmers McKeon and Cody Simpson.

Chalmers previously dated McKeon before she moved on with Simpson.

Chalmers blasted media attention on a supposed 'love triangle' as fake news, which made him feel like departing Birmingham and reconsidering his future in swimming.

Instead, the Aussie star stayed in Birmingham and is now a triple gold medallist following earlier relay wins.

McKeon's latest gold medal was her first at international level in the 50m butterfly, with 34-year-old teammate Holly Barratt claiming silver in a dead heat.

"It's a hard workload physically but it's training my mind to be able to handle that many races," McKeon said of her program of eight events.

McKeown is now a dual Birmingham gold medallist after winning the 200m backstroke, while also swimming to silver in the 200m individual medley just 20 minutes earlier.

Para-swimming stalwart Levy, a 35-year-old five-time Paralympian, captured gold in the 50m freestyle S7.

with AAP

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