It was just a quick snack and drinks while on their honeymoon in Greece — and it turned into a whopping bill.
Newlyweds Alex and Lindsay Breen ordered just one beer, one cocktail and a dozen oysters — and were then hit with a staggering $850 bill by the DK Oyster bar on the island of Mykonos.
The Canadian couple were in disbelief when they saw the eyewatering tab, with restaurant waiters handing them menus without prices.
“We went to the oyster bar for a bite to eat and a drink,” Lindsay said.
“They immediately said, ‘Do you want oysters?’ We said yes and he said, ‘A dozen?’, so we said yes because a dozen is a typical order.
“My husband ordered a beer and I asked for a cocktail menu and he came back with the beer but I had to ask again for a cocktail menu and he started rhyming off different kinds of alcohol he had, vodka, gin but I asked for a menu.”
Alex Breen with his beer and oysters at the restaurant in Greece. Credit: Kennedy News and Media/Kennedy News and Media
The waiter eventually brought her a menu “but it didn’t have the brand or the drinks”.
Lindsay gave in and ordered an Aperol spritz.
When they had finished the oysters, the waiter tried to persuade them to order crab legs.
“When we’d finished the oysters, he was trying to get us to have crab legs and thank goodness we didn’t,” Lindsay said.
She said the waiter then tried to pressure them into having dessert.
“The guy came back with a huge trolley of desserts and he says, ‘So of course we’re having cake today’, and starts putting different desserts on our table and we said we didn’t want them and he started getting offended that we didn’t want to take them, so I can see how people would be pressured to take more,” she said.
“As we kept refusing what he was trying to give us, he was getting more frustrated.”
When the couple were ready to leave, they asked for the bill — but rather than giving it to them at the table, Alex was taken to a back room to pay.
Lindsay Breen with her cocktail. Credit: Kennedy News and Media/Kennedy News and Media
On being shown the massive bill, Alex was shocked and asked for a breakdown, which they gave him in Greek.
Feeling under pressure and getting a “sketchy vibe”, Alex paid the bill.
“He definitely felt intimidated and he’s the friendliest guy, so even if the bill was double he probably would have paid it to avoid any problems,” Lindsay said.
“It was pretty crazy. I’m glad in hindsight that we didn’t cause an argument or refuse to pay because it could have ended up worse for us.
“They know when you’re tourists and they take advantage.”
A newlywed couple was outraged to learn they were stuck with an AU$850 bill after being pressured to enjoy “a quick snack” while on their honeymoon.
Lindsay Breen and her husband Alex, both 30, were left in shock after being surprised by the outrageous bill at DK Oyster in Mykonos.
The couple, who hail from Toronto, Canada, was exploring the picturesque town when they decided to pop into one of the local restaurants.
“We went to the oyster bar for a bite to eat and a drink,” Lindsay explained.
“They immediately said ‘do you want oysters?’ They were very presumptuous. We said yes and he said ‘a dozen?’ so we said yes because a dozen is a typical order.
“My husband ordered a beer and I asked for a cocktail menu and he came back with the beer but I had to ask again for a cocktail menu and he started rhyming off different kinds of alcohol he had, vodka, gin but I asked for a menu.”
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The restaurant worker continued to give Lindsay a hard time about bringing out a menu.
“I didn’t know how it was so difficult to see what they had,” she said.
The server eventually brought the couple “what they consider their cocktail menu” which was simply “a laminated piece of paper with the types of alcohol listed but it didn’t have the brand or the drinks” listed.
Lindsay finally gave in and ordered an Aperol spritz “because they clearly didn’t have a menu that they wanted to give me”.
“He finally came back with comically large drinks so we were thinking it’s their funny thing that the bar does because we didn’t ask for an extra-large cocktail,” she remembered.
“He was very much lurking around the table the whole time. He was always around,” she said of the aggressive restaurant worker.
“When we’d finished the oysters, he was trying to get us to have crab legs and thank goodness we didn’t. He said ‘You know what would go really nice with these oysters? Crab legs. Shall I get some over for you guys?’ and we said no, we just wanted a quick snack and a drink.”
The new bride remembered that Alex claimed to see a menu on his way back from the bathroom listing oysters for US$29 but Lindsay couldn’t believe it.
“We had already eaten the oysters so we thought, ‘Oh God, what are we getting ourselves into with this bill?’” she said.
But worse was yet to come.
“The guy came back with a huge trolley of desserts and he says, ‘So, of course, we’re having cake today’ and starts putting different desserts on our table and we said we didn’t want them and he started getting offended that we didn’t want to take them so I can see how people would be pressured to take more.
“As we kept refusing what he was trying to give us he was getting more frustrated.”
After finishing their snack and “comically large drinks,” the couple was ready to pay and continue with their day.
“When we were ready to leave, I went to the washroom and they had my husband go into a back room to pay which is sketchy,” Lindsay remembered.
“They gave him the bill which was over 400 euros. He was shocked and asked for a breakdown. They had a computer screen that they turned to him and it was all in Greek but we don’t speak Greek.”
Although he was completely shocked by the large bill, Alex paid without any issues after he got a “sketchy vibe” and “didn’t want to get himself in a bad situation.”
“He definitely felt intimidated and he’s the friendliest guy so even if the bill was double he probably would have paid it to avoid any problems,” Lindsay admitted.
“It was pretty crazy. I’m glad in hindsight that we didn’t cause an argument or refuse to pay because it could have ended up worse for us. They know when you’re tourists they take advantage.”
The couple was in disbelief as they walked away from the overpriced beach club.
“It’s so crazy to pay that for a snack,” Lindsay insisted. “We were really shocked, especially because we’d had some really nice meals in Italy and we’re willing to spend when it’s justified but we didn’t get much.”
Despite the shock, the couple is just glad they were able to foot the bill and charge the rest of their large expenses on their credit card.
“I can imagine how someone would end up with no money. It’s not an ideal way to spend our money but we’re fortunate we could pay,” she said.
“On holidays, we like to stumble in wherever looks good. we don’t really research but we’ll probably start. They have a similar atmosphere to the other restaurants to blend in and make people think it’ll be at a similar price.
Lindsay did concede that it was “less busy than the other restaurants”.
“They all had their menus posted outside which is typical for that type of area. They were all similar price points, obviously a little bit expensive but fair for what you were getting.”
She and Alex quickly glanced at the menu outside DK Oyster in Mykonos and believe the oysters were listed at nine euros but later learned that the restaurant priced their menu based on items per 100g.
“So it says calamari is 29 dollars but in fine print, it will say that’s for 100g of calamari so your bill comes up to 300 euros,” she said. “I’m so happy we didn’t go there hungry and order a proper lunch.”
The Breens aren’t the first couple to be scammed by this oceanfront restaurant in Greece.
“Next door, a store owner said he was so sorry to hear that we went,” Lindsay said.
“He said he warns everyone that goes into the store to stay away from there and it doesn’t represent who the Greek people are.”
DK Oyster’s TripAdvisor rating is a measly 2.5 stars accumulated from their 1455 ratings. The page is flooded with 1-star accounts of experiences similar to the Breens’.
“DO NOT GO HERE! Absolutely disgusting behavior from manager and staff. Cocktails are awful and charged €125 plus service for 2! Waiters made us feel very uncomfortable,” one review reads.
“Wish we looked at the reviews before! This place is a joke! 350 euros for 4 drinks! I would definitely NOT recommend going here. Please save your euros!” another reads.
But the staff at the tourist trap do not seem to be very apologetic and often mock their guests who leave bad reviews.
“Thank you for taking the time to post your review, but could you please clarify the exact reason for your disappointment? The prices you mention sound correct, so I would like to understand what the problem was,” a reply reads.
“The drinks were not what you expected, the setting or the service? Your opinion is important to us. So, we would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to clarify.”
They also mocked customers who claimed to be intimidated into paying the exorbitant prices: “Let me see if I got it right: You were abducted from the beach and shoved by force into a luxury restaurant.”
After all the commotion the restaurant has cooked up, they were recently fined more than $30,000 for scamming two American tourists, the Greek City Times reported.
This serves as a lesson to those who look at the menu and think ‘It’s all Greek to me’ – double check the prices before you sit down!
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished with permission
Rohan Browning has produced his best run of the year to send a message at the Commonwealth Games.
The 24-year-old won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side of him and said ‘I’ve got this’.
“This is very similar to his heat at Tokyo. He opens up that leg stride. I have got
a nice forward lean. You can still tell he is looking across and he has got a bit more. Look at that face. He is so relaxed. That is exactly what you want to see from a sprinter running at top pace. He will be very happy with that.”
He was.
It’s a sign that the magical 10.0 second mark could finally fall for him.
“I always planned on running this round hard, at this level you have to treat every round with respect, but there’s two more rounds to come,” he said.
“I don’t want a repeat of Tokyo where I was out in the semis. I want to keep a bit of powder dry for the finals.”
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, also qualified for the 100m semi-finals, finishing second in his heat with a time of in 10.39 seconds.
Browning’s time was just 0.04 seconds short of being the fastest in the heats.
Team Australia dominated the Commonwealth Games medal tally in Birmingham in the opening four days, sitting comfortably in front – thanks largely to more dominance in the pool.
Australia claimed a stunning eight gold medals on day one, including five of a possible seven in the pool! On day two, Australia added five more golds.
The gold rush continued with nine on day three, highlighted by Emma McKeon making history with a record-breaking 11th Commonwealth Games gold medal when she took out the Women’s 50m freestyle final.
Australia has dominated again on day four with another NINE gold medals, coming in judo, lawn bowls, cycling and gymnastics — along with the usual big haul in the pool.
Australia has opened day five with a 72nd medal of the Games, this time a bronze in the men’s vault in artistic gymnastics.
DAY 5 LIVE: Athletics begins as Browning opens 100m campaign; McKeon and Simpson eye final swim day
DAY 4 WRAP: Aussies win NINE golds in wild Games medal blitz; Chalmers win ‘hard to enjoy’
Read on for more details and the full medal tally.
Australia sit on top of the medal tally with 31 gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze (71 total!), ahead of England and New Zealand.
The Aussies topped the tally with 198 medals — including 80 gold — in the Gold Coast four years ago.
You can track the live medal tally for every country here, with key Aussie wins and updates as they happen.
Click here for a full list of EVERY Aussie medal winner!
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COMMONWEALTH GAMES MEDALS TALLY (AS OF 5:30AM WEDNESDAY)
RANK/COUNTRY/GOLD/SILVER/BRONZE/TOTAL
1. Australia — 37, 28, 30, 95
2.England—28, 30, 17, 75
3.New Zealand—13, 7, 5, 25
4. Canada — 10, 14, 19, 43
5. South Africa—6, 5, 5, 16
6. India — 5, 4, 3, 12
7.Scotland—3, 8, 15, 26
8. Wales—3, 2, 8, 13
9. Malaysia — 2, 2, 3, 7
10. Nigeria — 2, 1, 4, 7
See the full live medal tally here.
DAY-BY-DAY MEDAL LIST
DAY FIVE
James Bacuetti claimed Australia’s first men’s gymnastics medal of these Games, winning bronze in the men’s vault. 20-year-old English sensation Jake Jarman won gold – his FOURTH of the Games – ahead of Fellow Englishman Giarnni Regini-Moran.
Aofie Coughlan took home the gold medal in the women’s 70kg judo final while Eileen Cikamatana set a new Games Record en route to a gold medal in the women’s 87kg weightlifting final.
in the swimming, Mollie O’Callaghan produced a stunning upset to win the gold in the womens’ 100m freestyle as Elizabeth Deckers won the women’s 200m butterfly.
nina kennedy secured the gold in the women’s pole vault.
DAY 5 LIVE: Athletics begins as Browning opens 100m campaign; McKeon and Simpson eye more gold
DAY FOUR
Australia ended day four with 31 gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze (71 total!), ahead of England and New Zealand.
Georgia Goodwin narrowly won gold in the women’s vault over Canada’s Laurie Denommee, while at the track, matthew glaetzer won gold in the men’s 1,000m time trial. Ellen Ryan won gold in the women’s lawn bowls singles and Tinka Easton caused an upset by claiming gold in judo.
in the pool, Kyle Chalmer won the 100m freestyle, Kaylee McKeown won the 200m backstroke and matthew levy claimed gold in the men’s 50m freestyle S7. Emma McKeon then narrowly clinched gold in the 50m breaststroke to extend her Games record to 12 golds, while the Aussies ended the night with victory in the men’s 4x200m freestyle.
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Elsewhere, 49-year-old legend Jian Fang Lay has led the Aussie team to bronze in the women’s table tennis team event.
It began with victory in doubles alongside Yangzi Liu, who won her own singles game before Jian Fang Lay sealed the 3-0 over Wales with a singles victory of her own.
Kyle Bruce claimed silver in the men’s 81kg weightlifting after a heartbreaking jury decision overruled his final, gold-winning lift.
The Aussie men’s triples claimed silver in the lawn bowls, fighting back from 12-1 down in the final to level the score at 12-12 against England before falling 14-12.
DAY 4 WRAP: Aussies win NINE golds in wild Games medal blitz; Chalmers win ‘hard to enjoy’
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Jian Fang Lay led the Aussies to bronze in table tennis!Source: Getty Images
DAY THREE
Australians Sam Harding and Jonathan Gorlach kicked off the day with superb silver and bronze medals in the men’s PTVI triathlon final.
Emma McKeon and Kaylee McKeown then added two more gold in the pool taking out the Women’s 50m freestyle and the 100m backstroke respectively.
McKeon led home meg harris in silver with Shayna Jack (24.36) finishing third.
In the men’s 50m breaststroke, Zac Stubblety-Cook (59.52) took home bronze.
The Women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team then completed a dominant campaign in the pool by breaking the world record.
Georgia Godwin won the all-round rhythmic gymnastics women’s final.
Australia’s Women’s 7s rugby side then put the pain of Tokyo behind them to claim gold in the final against Fiji.
In track cycling, matthew richardson won the men’s final sprint.
Kristina Clonan took home gold in the 500m time trial.
Georgia Baker won the women’s 25km points race, while Jessica Gallagher picked up her second gold medal of the Games in the Women’s tandem 1000m time trial with pilot Caitlyn Ward.
Day 3 WRAP: ‘Extraordinary’ Aussies break world record, McKeon makes history
‘It is shocking’: Thorpe stunned as England World record holder toppled in ‘unbelievable’ boilover
SHOCK CRASH: Cyclist catapults into crowd in horror scenes after Comm Games crash
‘Lost my s***’: Boxall goes bonkers AGAIN as Aussie coach celebrates WR win
‘Took all my courage and energy to swim’: Chalmers stuns in raw, emotional interview
DAY TWO
madison de rosario took out the women’s T53/54 marathon in style, dominating the field to win with a Commonwealth Games record time of 1:56:00.
Jess Stenson won the women’s marathon with an incredible run, going better than her two bronze medals in Glasgow and the Gold Coast.
It was another ripping day in the pool, with katja dedekind winning a gold meal in the women’s 50m freestyle S13 while both the men’s and women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay finished first.
There were silver medals for maeve plouffe in the women’s 3000m individual pursuit, Brendon Smith in the men’s 400m IM, Emma McKeon in the women’s 100m butterfly and the artistic gymnastics team.
DAY 2 NEWS
WRAP: McKeon makes history amid swim gold rush; rugby stars win thriller
‘A load of s***’: Chalmers explodes at media for ‘ruining it all’ over love triangle claims
‘Dream big’: ‘Extraordinary’ journey behind ‘one of the great’ Aussie athletics triumphs
‘I was just guessing’: New Aussie cult hero’s shock reveal after ‘epic’ career-best run
DAY ONE
matt hauser had the honor of being the first Australian to win a medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, taking home the silver medal in the Men’s Triathlon Sprint Distance Final.
Ariarne Titmus won gold in the women’s 200m freestyle, 18-year-old Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan claimed silver in an unbelievable late charge, ahead of Madison Wilson.
Elijah Winnington won gold in the men’s 400m freestyle, ahead of fellow Aussies Sam Short and Mack Horton. Zac Stubblety-Cook won gold in the men’s 200m breaststroke while Kiah Melverton took silver in the women’s 400m Individual Medley.
In the final race of night one, Australia won gold in the mixed 4x100m relay.
Princess Charlotte was all smiles as she watched the Commonwealth Games with her mum and dad.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took Charlotte, seven, to see the swimming at the Sandwell Aquatics Center in Birmingham, The Sun reports.
William and Kate arrived on Tuesday shortly after the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children, Lady Louise and James.
Before the duke and duchess’s arrival, Edward, who is vice patron of the Commonwealth Games, shared a joke with former prime minister Theresa May as he entered during the men’s 1500m freestyle heats.
The duke and duchess arrived shortly after with Princess Charlotte, dressed in a striped dress and her hair done up in pigtails.
Kate, dressed in a white blazer and trousers, embraced Edward, Sophie and their children before taking her seat next to Charlotte.
The duchess was pointing and explaining things to her daughter, while William held one of the official programs.
The royals were cheering and applauding alongside the crowd for England 1500m freestyle hopeful Luke Turley.
After rolling her eyes following a comment from her father, Charlotte then cracked a smile as Turley’s heat came to close.
It’s been a very sporty week for Charlotte, who also roared her support for the England Lionesses alongside Prince William ahead of Sunday’s Euro final.
She beamed as she wished the team good luck as they prepared to take on Germany at Wembley.
Wearing a short-sleeved polka dot top, Charlotte said: “Good luck, I hope you win. Bye.”
Charlotte is currently on her school summer holidays from her $34,000-a-year Thomas’s Battersea school.
This summer may also be particularly busy for the family who are reportedly preparing to move to a house on the Queen’s Windsor estate.
This article was originally published by The Sun and reproduced with permission
England won a major women’s tournament for the first time as Chloe Kelly’s extra-time goal secured a 2-1 victory over Germany at a sold out Wembley on Sunday.
In front of a record crowd of 87,192 for any match in the history of the European Championships, Kelly prodded home a loose ball from close range to end English football’s 56-year wait for a World Cup or Euro victory.
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England looked set for victory in the 90 minutes when substitute Ella Toone’s sublime chip over Merle Frohms put the hosts in front.
Germany showed remarkable resilience to bounce back as Lina Magull leveled 11 minutes from time.
But for once, England were not to be denied a major tournament success. Kelly fought back from an anterior cruciate ligament tear to be fit in time for the tournament and made herself a national hero by being in the right place to pounce when Germany failed to clear a corner in the 110th minute.
The Manchester City winger tore her shirt off in celebration in scenes reminiscent of Mia Hamm’s famous reaction to scoring the winning penalty for the USA at the 1999 World Cup.
Fortune did not favor Germany, who lost captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp to a muscle injury in the warm-up.
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But England will feel their time for some luck was due as 12 months on from the Three Lions’ defeat on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 men’s final, the nation’s women went one better.
While England enjoy the celebrations, Germany manager Martin Voss-Tecklenburg was left aggrieved by the decision not to award a penalty to her side in the first half of Sunday’s Euro 2022 final defeat to England.
Lionesses captain Leah Williamson escaped after the ball hit her hand in a goalmouth scramble with the score still at 0-0.
After a VAR check, Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul was not told to review her initial decision not to give a penalty.
“On this level at the end of the European Championships this shouldn’t happen,” said Voss-Tecklenburg.
“I’d like to have a discussion why did not one look at it? This is something I would really like to ask. It happened to us today, but if it had happened to them I would feel the same. It really bothers me.”
Football’s home. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Germany suffered a major blow even before kick-off when captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp was forced to pull out in the warm-up due to a muscle injury.
Voss-Tecklenburg said the Wolfsburg striker, who had scored six goals in five games in the tournament, had suffered the injury in training on Saturday.
“We tried everything. Yesterday at the end of final training there were some problems, which we didn’t expect,” she added.
“This morning it looked a bit better but it was clear the decision had to be hers. I trusted her 1000 percent and today she said she couldn’t run or shoot properly.
“I have even higher respect to her to say that after such a special tournament, she won’t play a final. She is a great personality.”
German newspaper Bild called the final “another Wembley fraud”. England’s only previous major tournament win in either the men’s or women’s game came in the 1966 World Cup with a 4-2 win over West Germany that is still remembered for the Three Lions’ controversial third goal that may not have crossed the line.
English swimming goliath Adam Peaty has apologized over an “arrogant” interview that followed his incredible collapse at the Commonwealth Games on Monday.
Peaty’s defeat in the event he has owned for 10 years left Aussie legend Ian Thorpe staggered. It was a result almost nobody saw coming.
The world record holder had been undefeated in the 100m breaststroke at major meets since 2014. He had qualified fastest for the final and led the event with 25m to go. However, English teammate James Wilby pushed ahead of him to take the gold.
DAY 5 LIVE: Browning up next in 100m heat after teammate’s ultra-tight stunner
The magnitude of the boilover was written all over Wilby’s stunned face as he looked up to the big screen to see that he had won. With Aussies Zac Stubblety-Cook and Sam Williamson exploding at the death, Peaty suddenly went from the gold medal position to missing out on the podium completely.
It has been an explosive fall-out to the result with the 27-year-old declaring he won’t be coming back to the Commonwealth Games in four years’ time. It followed a social media backlash over comments that have been branded “arrogant” by fans.
Peaty spoke to the BBC on the pooldeck after finishing outside the medals and said losing in the Commonwealth Games meant little to him after already scooping up three Olympic gold medals.
“It doesn’t feel amazing, but it doesn’t feel bad either,” Peaty said.
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EVERY AUSSIE MEDAL: Read the day-by-day recap of the Comm Games
Adam Peaty speaking on the BBC.Source: Supplied
“It’ll probably be my last attempt tomorrow, but I’m not bothered about it. The Commonwealths to me, in the grand scheme of things… it’s about two years time (the Olympics).
“That’s no disrespect. I’m still four weeks into my program, I can’t put that expectation on myself.”
Retired English swimmer Mark Foster responded to Peaty’s comments, saying: “I think he’s trying to say it doesn’t matter, but it does matter.
“It’s the Commonwealth Games, it’s a multi-sport event and I think when he was growing up, the Commonwealth Games would have been a big deal.
“But the fact that he’s won lots of Worlds and Olympic Games, maybe he’s trying to play it down to himself that it doesn’t matter.”
The Birmingham Mail reported fans on social media said Peaty’s comments were “arrogant” and “disrespectful”.
“Adam peaty is disrespectful to every other athlete at the Commonwealth Games Acting like he doesn’t care While all the other athletes are trying they best to win medals,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another posted: “Adam Peaty, I think you need to take a deep breath, have a word with yourself and take a look at the para swimmers. Used to really respect you and what you were trying to achieve but feel let down by tonight’s comments.”
World record-holder Peaty qualified second-fastest for the 50m breaststroke final, scheduled for Wednesday morning, behind Australia’s Sam Williamson.
After moving through to the end, Peaty appeared to apologize for his comments.
He wrote on Twitter: “Thankful for all the supportful messages I’m getting at the moment. It has been an incredibly hard time the past few months, but mostly the last few days.
“Sometimes in the heat of the moment my emotions better me and I can’t speak with a clear mind.
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James Wilby was stunned. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.Source: Getty ImagesEngland’s James Wilby celebrates winning. Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP.Source: AFP
“These championships mean a lot to me being a home games but I have to think bigger picture to keep my spirits high. It really, really isn’t easy. My last Commonwealth Games race will be tomorrow.”
Peaty said he simply hasn’t had the time to return to his best shape as a result of a lengthy rehabilitation from several foot injuries. He said he didn’t have the aerobic fitness to challenge for the 100m breaststroke and even said he needs to lose 4kg before competing at the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
He said he has a long way to go before Paris.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Peaty said.
“I don’t see the point in doing something I wouldn’t do that well at, at the moment. We’ll see.
“I don’t know what went wrong. With 25m to go I had nothing in the tank. Maybe that’s overexposure on the foot. Sometimes you just have a bad race, I can’t pinpoint where I went wrong. There’s a lot of debriefing to do. I need a full reset now.
“It was a slow ending, I can’t remember the last time I went that slow. It just didn’t go right. Of course, I’m disappointed, but that’s what makes you go faster next time.
“I’ve kind of lost that spark, whether it’s with my foot, but I’ll be looking to find that over the next months and into the next two years.”
Rohan Browning has produced his best run of the year to send a message at the Commonwealth Games.
The 24-year-old won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side of him and said ‘I’ve got this’.
“This is very similar to his heat at Tokyo. He opens up that leg stride. I have got
a nice forward lean. You can still tell he is looking across and he has got a bit more. Look at that face. He is so relaxed. That is exactly what you want to see from a sprinter running at top pace. He will be very happy with that.”
He was.
It’s a sign that the magical 10.0 second mark could finally fall for him.
“I always planned on running this round hard, at this level you have to treat every round with respect, but there’s two more rounds to come,” he said.
“I don’t want a repeat of Tokyo where I was out in the semis. I want to keep a bit of powder dry for the finals.”
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, also qualified for the 100m semi-finals, finishing second in his heat with a time of in 10.39 seconds.
Browning’s time was just 0.04 seconds short of being the fastest in the heats.
Cody Simpson’s impressive swim in the semi-finals of the men’s 100m butterfly may not have been what Emma McKeon needed before she was about to go out and make history.
The singer turned swimmer moved through to the end of the 100m butterfly, continuing his remarkable return to swimming — as well as giving McKeon a scare in the process.
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The 25-year-old will join countryman Matt Temple in the decider after qualifying fifth-fastest for the race, scheduled for Wednesday morning (AEST).
Simpson was sluggish out of the blocks in his semi-final but found his groove to be second at the turn. It looked like he was in danger of being hunted down at death but he held on to finish third with a time of 52.16 seconds.
Heading into these Commonwealth Games it was Simpson’s ambition to make an individual final, and he has done just that – but will be hoping to go even further.
“Pretty wild, pretty special. That was my goal to make sure I got into the final – just relieved that I am,” he told Channel 7 on the pooldeck.
McKeon appeared to be just as relieved.
Asked how Simpson was handling things after she won a historic 12th gold medal in the 50m butterfly, McKeon revealed her heart was racing when watching Simpson race, half an hour before she walked out onto the pooldeck for her event.
“I was very excited for him,” she told Channel 7.
“I get that when watching him and other people that are close to me, more than I do for my own races. I am excited to watch him tomorrow night.”
Simpson revealed earlier it has been hard for him watching McKeon as well this week — even though she has delivered a golden avalanche in the Birmingham pool, breaking the record for the most gold medals ever won at the Commonwealth Games.
Simpson had missed the previous two previous night sessions when McKeon won gold medals because he had been back at his room preparing for his next event.
However, he was there with the rest of the Aussie team cheering her on as she collected her gold medal on Tuesday morning.
“I was watching her back at the Village, 50m free, it was hard because I was trying not to get excited because I had to keep something in the tank for my morning,” he said.
“It is hard, you want to stay focused but you want to be absolutely supportive of her too.
“I feel like every time I look over, she is racing. Ella she has a harder job than I do but she is handling it awesome. ”
Simpson won a gold medal earlier in the Games after an impressive performance in the heats of the 4x100m freestyle relay, which Australia went on to win in a Commonwealth Games record in the final.
Although he wasn’t part of the team in the final, Simpson still takes home a gold medal because he participated in the heats.
In the 100m butterfly heats on Monday night (AEST), Simpson made the surprising comment that he had been able to take it easy in the heats on the way through to the semi-finals.
“I was quite calm,” he told Channel 7.
“Knew I had to get through the next round, tick the box off, try to swim it as comfortably as I could without spending too much for tonight. Quite happy with it.”
Kyle Chalmers was scheduled to swim in the 100m butterfly, but revealed on Monday night he was pulling out to focus on his 100m freestyle final – which he won on Tuesday morning.
Chalmers’ decision to add butterfly to his program at this year’s national championships caused a stir, as it forced Simpson out of the Australian team for the world championships in Budapest.
There were suggestions at the time Chalmers’ butterfly move was sparked by Simpson’s relationship with Emma McKeon, but the Rio Olympic gold medalist fiercely denied that.
Examination of the substance in vape cartridges WNBA star Brittney Griner’s carried in February at a Moscow airport did not comply with Russian law, a defense expert testified Tuesday as her drug-smuggling trial in Russia continues amid US efforts to negotiate a prisoner swap for her release .
Among the violations is that results of the examination do not contain the amount of THC in the substance investigators tested, Griner’s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, said after the hearing.
“The examination does not comply with the law in terms of the completeness of the study and does not comply with the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” forensic chemist Dmitry Gladyshev testified for the defense during the roughly two-hour session.
The defense also interrogated prosecution expert Alexander Korablyov, who examined Griner’s cartridges taken from her luggage.
Griner’s appearance in the Khimki city courthouse marked her seventh hearing as Russian prosecutors accuse her of trying to smuggle less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. She has pleaded guilty to drug charges – a decision her lawyers hope will result in a less severe sentence – even as the US State Department maintains she is wrongfully detained, and she faces up to 10 years in prison.
Supporters of the two-time Olympic gold medalist and Phoenix Mercury center who plays in Russia during the WNBA offseason have called for her release over fears she is being used as a political pawn amid Russia’s war on Ukraine. US officials face immense pressure from Griner’s family, lawmakers and the professional basketball community to bring her home, and Griner wrote to President Joe Biden pleading with him to do everything in his power to facilitate her release from her.
The 31-year-old sat Tuesday inside the defendant’s cage in the courtroom. The charge d’affaires of the US embassy in Moscow, Elizabeth Rood, attended Tuesday’s hearing and afterward said the US would “continue to support Miss Griner through every step of this process and as long as it takes to bring her home to the United States safely.”
Griner’s next hearing is set for Thursday.
At trial, Griner has testified that she has a doctor’s prescription for medical cannabis and had no intention of bringing the drug into Russia. Following her arrest of her in February, she was tested for drugs and was clean, her lawyers previously said.
Amid public pressure and after months of internal debate, the Biden administration proposed a prisoner swap with Russia, offering to release a convicted Russian arms trafficker in exchange for Griner and another American detainee, Paul Whelan, people briefed on the matter have told CNN.
Russian officials countered the US offer, multiple sources familiar with the discussions have said, requesting in addition to arms dealer Viktor Bout the US also include a convicted murderer who was formerly a colonel with the Russian spy agency, Vadim Krasikov.
US officials did not accept the request as a legitimate counteroffer, the sources told CNN, in part because the proposal was sent through an informal backchannel. Krasikov’s release would also be complicated because he is in German custody.
“It’s a bad faith attempt to avoid a very serious offer and proposal that the United States has put forward and we urge Russia to take that offer seriously,” Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby told CNN, later adding, “We very much want to see Brittney and Paul come home to their families where they belong.”
Meantime, Griner’s trial carries on, with her legal team expected to continue questioning more witnesses before moving to closing arguments, during which the lawyers will elaborate on why they believe Griner’s detention was handled improperly. Closing arguments are expected in coming weeks.
Griner’s attorneys have already laid out some arguments claiming the basketball player’s detention was not handled correctly after she was arrested February 17 by personnel at the Sheremetyevo International Airport.
Her detention, search and arrest were “improper,” Alexander Boykov, one of her lawyers, said last week, noting more details would be revealed during closing arguments.
After she was stopped in the airport, Griner was made to sign documents that she did not fully understand, she testified. At first, she said, she was using Google translate on her phone from her but was later moved to another room where her phone from her was taken and she was made to sign more documents.
No lawyer was present, she testified, and her rights were not explained to her. Those rights would include access to an attorney once she was detained and the right to know what she was suspected of. Under Russian law, she should have been informed of her rights within three hours of her arrest.
In her testimony, Griner “explained to the court that she knows and respects Russian laws and never intended to break them,” Blagovolina – a partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin & Partners – said after last week’s hearing.
The detained player testified she was aware of Russian laws and had no intention of bringing the cannabis oil into the country, noting she was in a rush and “stress packing.”
Griner confirmed she has a doctor’s prescription for medical cannabis, Blagovolina said, which she uses to treat knee pain and joint inflammation.
“We continue to insist that, by indiscretion, in a hurry, she packed her suitcase and did not pay attention to the fact that substances allowed for use in the United States ended up in this suitcase and arrived in the Russian Federation,” Boykov, of Moscow Legal Center, has said.
Griner’s family, supporters and WNBA teammates continue to express messages of solidarity and hope as they wait for the conclusion of the trial and look forward to the potential of her release.
Before trial proceedings last week, the WNBA players union tweeted, “Dear BG … It’s early in Moscow. Our day is ending and yours is just beginning. Not a day, not an hour goes by that you’re not on our minds & in our hearts.”
This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.
correction: A prior version of this story missed Brittney Griner’s first name.
