Brown powers to historic gold

Chris Walker-Hebborn, Adam Peaty, Adam Barrett and Adam Brown of England celebrate winning the gold medal in the Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) PNL-140731-111028001

Brown, 25, from Gamlingay, swam the anchor leg and held off Australia’s James Magnussen to claim the historic gold.

Australia were aiming for their seventh straight victory in the event, but the English team posted a Commonwealth record time of 3min 31.51sec to ensure victory, while South Africa finished in third.

Speaking to the BBC Brown said: “I swam on the freestyle leg, and I was up against the fastest guy in the world, James Magnussen, so I knew he was going to be coming back at me the whole second 50 (metres).

“I had to dig in real deep and give it everything from my heart.

“It makes it much sweeter knowing it’s so long since we last won it.”

Brown hailed his teammates Chris Walker-Hebborn, Adam Peaty and Adam Barrett for executing the race brilliantly and giving him the best possible chance of securing the win.

He said: “They set me up perfectly and all I needed to do was get my hand on the wall. I did, so we’re over the moon.”

It has been an eventful few weeks for Brown as his Glasgow commitments meant he missed the birth of his new daughter, Lizzie, when his wife gave birth four weeks prematurely in the United States earlier this month.

Brown is still a member of Hatfield Swimming Club who have supported him throughout his career.

Director of swimming and head coach, Ian Wright, said: “We are delighted with the  result.

“Adam did a brilliant job anchoring the England team to gold in the final relay.

“He has been an inspiration to his teammates back home and can be very proud of what he has achieved.”

Brown, who now resides in Alabama, had already won bronze with England in the 4x100m freestyle relay last Friday and also made two  individual finals.

After winning gold he tweeted: “Thanks for all the support over the last couple of weeks...it’s been a pretty crazy time for me! Heading home to finally meet my daughter!!!”

Brown now sets his sights on the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and will try to replicate his Commonwealth Games success.

It will be a far tougher task.