Delhi Games gold rush begins with wins for Palmer and Coutts

Palmer stormed to victory, finishing a body length ahead of Jazmin Carlin, of Wales. The English champion Rebecca Adlington came third.

Then, in a major boilover, Coutts claimed gold, overwhelming Emily Seebohm in the process. Seebohm, who hopes to contest another seven finals, finished second.

Seebohm was bitterly disappointed with her performance, fading badly in the breaststroke leg - her weakest - as Coutts stamped her authority on the race. Coutts entered the third lap one body length behind and finished it a bodylength clear.

Coutts attributed her rapid improvement - her swim was the fastest in the world this year - to six intense weeks of preparation under coach John Fowlie. The pair have been working on her medley swim since the Pan Pacs in August.

Even so, Coutts went into the final not believing she could win.

''I actually didn't expect to win but I turned after the breaststroke and thought, 'Oh my god, I'm in front, keep going','' she said. ''I'm very happy with the time. It was a big PB and a big morale booster for me.''

Coutts has the 100 metres butterfly and freestyle still to race and will be looking for another breakthrough performance.

In the 200 IM Coutts has lived in the shadows of, firstly, Stephanie Rice, then Seebohm.

''There was always Steph and then Emily so it's nice to step up and show that I am capable of being a champion, of being the best,'' she said.

Australia won three golds and two silvers on the night, with the men's 4 x 100 metres relay winning in a smart time. Ryan Napoleon came within a touch of gold in the 400 metres freestyle, bested by Canadian Ryan Cochrane.

Palmer, who won gold in Beijing as part of the crack Australian 4 x 200 metres freestyle relay, is coached by Stephan Widmer. She should add another gold to her haul in the relay at these Games, where she and Blair Evans, who finished sixth in the final, will be joined by Bronte Barratt, who unexpectedly failed to qualify for the final and will be desperate to make up for her poor swim.

Since the Beijing Olympics, Palmer has battled a major shoulder injury to get herself right to race again and rated her swim the highlight of her career.

''It's been awesome from Beijing,'' she said. ''A massive highlight of my career so far and going right back to the bottom with my shoulder injury and having six months completely to pretty much learn how to swim again. Coming here tonight is probably the peak of my career, including the Olympic gold.''

Palmer had been worried she might never swim again and thought at times that it might have been easier to quit than to continue.

''We had a team meeting yesterday and Leigh Nugent, our head coach, said we've got to dominate this against the Pommies,'' she said.

Meanwhile it was advantage Australia in the final event on Monday night. A strong performance from the men’s 4x100 metre relay team of Kyle Richardson, Eamon Sullivan, Tommaso D’orsogna and James Magnussen sealed Australia’s third gold medal, comfortably surpassing arch-rivals England. The Australians’ haul of five medals – including two silver – from five finals last night outstripped England’s two silver and a bronze, ensuring early bragging right for the reigning champions of the pool. Australia’s final gold medal was never in doubt, as the men’s 4x100m team surged to an early lead and maintained the buffer throughout.

Earlier, Ryan Napoleon almost made it four gold medals for Australia, only for him to be narrowly eclipsed over the final 50 metres by Canada’s Ryan Cochrane.Napoleon, who was almost scratched from the Commonwealth Games due to a mix-up over asthma medication, was struck down with a case of Delhi belly on Sunday night, but still produced a solid performance to finish just 0.09 seconds behind Cochrane.

‘‘It’s not something that’s going to change anything now and what’s happened has happened,’’ Napoleon said of his disrupted preparation. ‘‘We were really happy to be able to make the final, let alone come away with a silver medal.’

with Alex Brown