New Delhi:
Australia's Geoff Huegill on Friday capped a remarkable comeback from retirement and a well-documented battle with his weight to win gold in the men's 100m butterfly.
The 31-year-old grabbed the title he first won in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 to win in a new Commonwealth Games record time of 51.69 seconds. Papua New Guinea's Ryan Pini and Antony James of England tied for silver.
"Words can't describe how I feel," Huegill told reporters at poolside. "I've finally put together the perfect race.
"I knew I was going fast but not that fast. The last time I swam that quickly was 10 years ago. It just goes to show that there is still hope for all the old buggers out there. It's awesome to be back."
The sprint had been expected to be a race between Huegill and Jason Dunford but the Kenyan swimmer was off the pace as the powerful Sydneysider surged ahead.
His victory was revenge for the 50m butterfly when Dunford just edged him out of top spot.
The victory is Huegill's fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal. He won gold in the 100m fly and 4x100 medley in 1998 and the double 50m and 100m fly titles in Manchester four years later.
Huegill retired after the Athens Olympics in 2004 and his weight ballooned.
He lost a staggering 45kg to make it back into the Australia squad for the Games and posted the 10th fastest time in the event this year.
The popular veteran last weekend described being back in the squad as "awesome"
"Had you asked me in 2004 that I'd be sat here today at the 2010 Commonwealth Games I would have laughed and said you were dreaming."
Pini, 28, was the defending champion from Melbourne in 2006. He made the Olympic final in Beijing but has failed to find form since and was only fifth fastest qualifier.
"I'm really happy with the second place, there was a lot of pressure at the start of the race," said Pini. "The 50m is my strongest event, so whatever happened here was a novelty.
"I swam just outside my PB, which was good, and it was an incredible swim by Geoffrey too."
Australia's Andrew Lauterstein had been fancied to take the title but had to withdraw after contracting a stomach bug. Lauterstein is fourth fastest in the world this year