Bury St Edmunds swimmer Chris Walker-Hebborn blew away the rest of the field to claim 100m backstroke gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The 24-year-old – who has reinvented himself as a short distance specialist following disappointment at the London 2012 Olympics – touched home first in a time of 53.12, well ahead of Australian Mitch Larkin (53.59) and Liam Tancock (53.75).

With the 50m back, 4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley still to come, he said: “I’m over the moon, a little bit emotional, speechless really.

“It was great to have Liam (Tancock) back (following injury) and he scared me a little bit yesterday (with a fast time in the semi-finals), but I had a few things up my sleeve and was absolutely pumped. I’m just buzzing.”