THERE was barely enough to separate them.
Less than 24 hours after Filip Nowacki got the better of Adam Ramsay-Peaty in the 100m breaststroke final, the seven-time Commonwealth champion struck back in the shortest event of the programme, edging the Jerseyman by just 0.02 seconds in a thrilling 50m heat at Tollcross.
Drawn alongside each other in lanes four and five, the pair were inseparable from the start. Ramsay-Peaty eventually got his hand to the wall first, clocking 27.27 seconds to Nowacki’s 27.29, a reminder that the 31-year-old still has plenty left in the tank despite suggesting to the JEP that “my miles have probably come to an end.”
It was another fascinating chapter in a rivalry separated not just by hundredths of a second, but by 13 years.
One swimmer is still building his career, with Ramsay-Peaty himself describing Nowacki as a talent with “plenty of miles ahead of him”. The other is one of the sport’s modern greats, determined to prove he is not ready to pass the baton just yet.
Yet the race for Commonwealth gold may not belong to either of them.
South Africa’s Michael Houlie and Australia’s Sam Williamson both showed why they are regarded as two of the world’s leading sprint breaststrokers, posting blistering heats of 26.53 and 26.75 respectively.
At 28 and 26 years old, Houlie and Williamson are arguably entering the prime of their careers, occupying the space between the fearless teenager and the decorated veteran.
Houlie, who exploded through the opening 50 metres of Sunday’s 100m final before fading, will take confidence from producing another sub-27 second swim, while Williamson continues to look every inch a medal contender.
For Nowacki, however, the 50m has never been his favoured discipline. The 18-year-old’s greatest strength lies over the longer distance, where his ability to build through the second half of a race comes into its own rather than relying on an explosive one-length sprint.
This evening’s semi-finals, followed by Monday’s final, promise another captivating instalment in one of Glasgow’s most compelling swimming storylines.
